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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: cap · stick · mate · coach · content · shower · band · game

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. band — a ring
  5. mate — a friend
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. game — a match
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cap — of ice
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cap — a lid
  13. content — the amount
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. shower — rain
  16. content — happy
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mate — a partner
  20. band — a music group
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mate — to breed

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