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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 116 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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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: stand · bowl · club · pop · coach · rest · cold · capital

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. capital — money
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pop — music
  11. rest — a break
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. club — for golf
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cold — not warm
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pop — soda
  22. cold — an illness
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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