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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: file · coach · pitcher · lean · fork · game · capital · land

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. file — a tool
  12. lean — thin
  13. capital — a city
  14. file — a document
  15. game — a match
  16. lean — to bend
  17. land — ground
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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