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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
468
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: rash · net · kid · rest · scale · coach · capital · wound

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rash — a series
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. scale — size or range
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rest — a break
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wound — an injury
  16. scale — in music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. kid — child
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. kid — to tease
  21. net — for catching
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wound — an injury
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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