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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: capital · fan · coach · land · straw · can · march · sharp

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. march — music
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. can — a tin
  13. sharp — clever
  14. march — the month
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. land — to come down
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. march — the month
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. can — to be able to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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