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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: wound · file · coach · club · row · mate · net · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. row — to paddle
  9. net — after costs
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wound — an injury
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wound — an injury
  15. file — a tool
  16. net — for catching
  17. mate — a partner
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for golf
  21. mate — a friend
  22. file — a document
  23. net — in sport
  24. file — a line of people

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