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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 120 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: net · bat · present · bear · capital · sharp · coach · deal

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. net — in sport
  3. sharp — clever
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. net — for catching
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bear — the animal
  10. net — after costs
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bat — the animal
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. deal — to handle
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. present — the time now
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. present — there

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