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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 116 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: club · land · coach · pitcher · lie · cold · cap · bass

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — of ice
  3. land — to come down
  4. bass — low music
  5. land — ground
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cap — a hat
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. club — for golf
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. land — a country
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cold — not warm
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — a group
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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