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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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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: straw · bay · tube · rest · capital · coach · present · pitch

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. capital — a city
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pitch — completely
  8. present — the time now
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. capital — money
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. present — there
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tube — a container
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. present — a gift
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. rest — what's left

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