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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: capital · bowl · content · present · kid · coach · nail · hand

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. kid — child
  8. hand — in cards
  9. content — the amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. present — there
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. capital — a city
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. capital — money
  24. content — happy

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