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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · coach · squash · straw · capital · racket

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a city
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. tear — from crying
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. squash — the sport
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. capital — money
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tear — to rip
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. tear — from crying
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. 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