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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: bass · capital · rash · last · cell · field · coach · can

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. field — for sport
  5. can — to be able to
  6. field — a subject
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. last — to go on
  9. cell — in biology
  10. capital — a city
  11. rash — a series
  12. bass — low music
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bass — the fish
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — farmland
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. cell — a phone
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. last — final
  23. capital — money
  24. last — finally

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