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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: bound · trunk · swing · sharp · coach · kid · present · capital

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. capital — money
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. present — a gift
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bound — tied together
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. sharp — clever
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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