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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: capital · jam · cap · coach · bat · ball · dip · tear

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. tear — to rip
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to sink
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cap — a lid
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cap — of ice
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. jam — a tight spot

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