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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wake — a trail
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — all right
  7. rock — music
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. craft — boats
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. capital — a city
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. capital — money
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. rock — a stone
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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