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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: wound · cap · game · track · bowl · last · coach · fine

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. last — to go on
  4. cap — a hat
  5. game — a match
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. game — wild animals
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. track — to keep track
  14. fine — all right
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cap — of ice
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fine — high quality
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. track — a song
  23. wound — an injury
  24. track — a path

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