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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 · straw · face · pit · dip · capital · wind · jam

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pit — in a race
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pit — a hole
  9. face — to point toward
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. dip — to sink
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. capital — a city
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. capital — money
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. face — to confront
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. dip — to dunk

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