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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: coach · cap · scale · cold · capital · tube · root · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cap — of ice
  5. capital — a city
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. scale — in music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cap — a lid
  10. mate — a partner
  11. capital — money
  12. root — of a plant
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. root — of a word
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mate — a friend
  21. tube — a container
  22. scale — size or range
  23. root — the cause
  24. capital — a big letter

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