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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 116 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. capital — money
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cap — of ice
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pop — music
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. drill — army training
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cap — a lid
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cap — a hat
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wake — a trail
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. pop — to visit
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pop — soda
  21. capital — a city
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. drill — a practice

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