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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.

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: kick · hide · scale · coach · field · can · capital · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. game — wild animals
  4. scale — size or range
  5. can — a tin
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. field — farmland
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. kick — in football
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. can — to be able to
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. can — a tin
  21. capital — a city
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. scale — in music
  24. kick — a thrill

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