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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 120 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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. capital — a city
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stand — to bear
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. perch — the fish
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. fork — in a road
  16. capital — money
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rush — hurry
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. band — a ring
  24. bat — the animal

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