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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. capital — a city
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pound — a weight
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. march — music
  10. last — final
  11. board — a committee
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. suit — in cards
  15. march — the month
  16. suit — to fit
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. board — to get on
  23. capital — money
  24. suit — clothes

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