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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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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: snap · coach · perch · cap · firm · capital · ball · file

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cap — a hat
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ball — a dance
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cap — a lid
  9. file — a tool
  10. firm — steady
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. snap — to click
  13. capital — a city
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. firm — decided
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ball — a great time
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. capital — money
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cap — of ice

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