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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tube — a container
  3. club — a group
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kid — child
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. chair — a leader
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. tube — the underground
  10. kid — to tease
  11. capital — money
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. club — for golf
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. capital — a city
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wound — an injury
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chair — a professorship

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