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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: game · cap · fan · mine · snap · toast · coach · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. cap — a hat
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. toast — bread
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. snap — to click
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. game — a match
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cap — of ice
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. game — wild animals

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