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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: coach · wound · rush · lean · tear · bound · capital · staff

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — money
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tear — from crying
  11. staff — employees
  12. bound — tied together
  13. lean — to bend
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. wound — an injury
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — thin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bound — obliged
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bound — certain

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