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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. shower — rain
  4. fine — high quality
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cold — not warm
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. capital — a city
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mug — a face
  17. staff — a stick
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mug — to rob
  20. shower — to wash
  21. capital — money
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — a penalty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com