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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: coach · capital · firm · ground · jam · cold · row · bank

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cold — an illness
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. firm — a company
  7. ground — a position
  8. bank — for money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bank — of a river
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. cold — not warm
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. row — to paddle
  18. firm — steady
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bank — for money
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. firm — decided
  23. row — a line
  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