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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: deal · shower · coach · cap · bear · content · capital · present

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. shower — to wash
  5. present — the time now
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cap — a hat
  8. present — there
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bear — the animal
  11. present — a gift
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. content — the amount
  14. deal — to handle
  15. content — happy
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. shower — rain
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bear — the animal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cap — a lid
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. coach — a trainer

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