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

Word bank: coach · fall · cap · stick · rash · vault · club · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. club — for dancing
  3. rash — a series
  4. club — for golf
  5. cap — a hat
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. rash — hasty
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cap — of ice
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. club — a group
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cap — a lid
  16. row — to paddle
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. rash — on the skin
  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