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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: can · jam · capital · bat · toast · coach · game · temple

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. game — a match
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. game — wild animals
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. can — a tin
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. bat — the animal
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. capital — a city
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. capital — money
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. toast — bread
  24. bat — in an idiom

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