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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. scale — in music
  3. rest — what's left
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. present — the time now
  9. capital — money
  10. game — a match
  11. scale — size or range
  12. spell — magic
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. spell — a short time
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rest — what's left
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spell — letters
  20. present — there
  21. row — a line
  22. rest — a break
  23. present — a gift
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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