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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: date · safe · land · cap · rule · coach · game · kid

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rule — a law
  4. cap — of ice
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kid — to tease
  7. land — ground
  8. date — the fruit
  9. land — to come down
  10. kid — child
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rule — government
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. game — wild animals
  16. land — a country
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. game — a match
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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