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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 124 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mug — a face
  4. board — a committee
  5. mug — a cup
  6. cue — for pool
  7. capital — money
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cold — an illness
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. pitch — completely
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cold — not warm
  18. board — to get on
  19. mug — to rob
  20. capital — a city
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cue — a signal
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — a sports field

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