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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 · present · pound · nail · kid · fork · capital · sharp

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. kid — to tease
  3. capital — a city
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. sharp — clever
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pound — a weight
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. present — there
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. present — a gift
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kid — child
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. capital — money
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fork — in a road
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. present — the time now

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