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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: coach · face · jam · temple · row · cold · patient · capital

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. row — a line
  9. cold — an illness
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. face — to point toward
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. face — part of the head
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. row — to paddle
  17. face — to confront
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. capital — money
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cold — not warm
  24. patient — a sick person

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