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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. scale — size or range
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. scale — in music
  11. cold — an illness
  12. capital — money
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. kid — child
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. capital — a city
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. foot — a measure
  23. cold — not warm
  24. coach — a trainer

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