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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pop — soda
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. band — a ring
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pop — to visit
  12. net — after costs
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mug — a cup
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pop — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. net — for catching
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a face
  23. net — in sport
  24. band — a music group

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