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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: coach · file · craft · court · snap · mine · rash · capital

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. craft — a skill
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rash — a series
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. court — of a king
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. court — for sport
  11. rash — hasty
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. court — of law
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. craft — boats
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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