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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 · bore · clip · band · board · pitcher · rock

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. band — a music group
  3. capital — a city
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bore — to tire
  6. clip — a video
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. capital — money
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. band — a ring
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rock — music
  17. bore — to drill
  18. board — a committee
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. board — to get on

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