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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: cap · roll · kid · coach · date · foot · bark · tube

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kid — to tease
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. tube — the underground
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. roll — a list
  11. cap — a hat
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bark — to shout
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. kid — child
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tube — a container
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cap — a lid
  23. roll — a cake
  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