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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: dip · coach · field · capital · date · bowl · chair · face

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. capital — a city
  4. chair — a leader
  5. date — the fruit
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. capital — money
  8. face — to confront
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. field — farmland
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. field — a subject
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. dip — to sink
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. field — for sport
  24. coach — a trainer

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