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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 120 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: capital · mark · cell · bat · ground · coach · dip · arm

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mark — a grade
  7. capital — money
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ground — crushed
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. capital — a city
  12. ground — a position
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ground — the earth
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a trace
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. dip — to sink
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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