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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: squash · capital · dip · track · snap · coach · prune · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. snap — to click
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. squash — the sport
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. squash — to crush
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. capital — a city
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. capital — money
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. prune — to trim
  23. dip — to sink
  24. kid — to tease

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