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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. march — music
  4. cue — a signal
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. board — to get on
  8. march — the month
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. march — the month
  14. cue — for pool
  15. game — a match
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. board — a committee
  18. game — wild animals
  19. file — a line of people
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cue — a hint
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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