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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 116 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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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: coach · kid · cap · last · mark · fall · root · plane

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cap — of ice
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. kid — to tease
  10. last — final
  11. cap — a lid
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. last — finally
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — child
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. last — to go on
  20. plane — a tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. root — the cause
  24. fall — the season

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