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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 · rock · capital · straw · staff · pit · wind · game

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rock — music
  6. game — wild animals
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. capital — a city
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rock — a stone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. game — a match
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. pit — a hole
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. staff — a stick
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — money
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. wind — moving air

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