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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: rash · capital · coach · cell · mine · safe · track · wind

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cell — in biology
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. track — a path
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — money
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. track — a song
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. mine — for digging

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