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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: pop · cap · coach · cabinet · leaves · race · land · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. land — to come down
  4. race — the arms race
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. cap — a hat
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. last — final
  14. race — humankind
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cap — of ice
  18. race — a contest
  19. pop — soda
  20. cap — a lid
  21. last — finally
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — of a tree

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