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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cold · suit · cell · capital · saw · sharp · march

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cell — a phone
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. suit — in cards
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. suit — to fit
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. march — the month
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. capital — money
  16. saw — the tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. suit — clothes
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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