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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: face · row · pitcher · deal · capital · staff · tube · coach

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. staff — employees
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. face — part of the head
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tube — the underground
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. row — a line
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. face — to point toward
  17. staff — a stick
  18. face — to confront
  19. deal — to handle
  20. tube — a container
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. staff — employees

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