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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — the animal
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rest — what's left
  5. lean — to bend
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rest — what's left
  9. squash — the sport
  10. capital — a city
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. file — a document
  13. rest — a break
  14. board — to get on
  15. squash — to crush
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. file — a tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. board — a committee

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