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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · date · spring · wound · pitcher · object · can · cap

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. object — to protest
  3. can — a tin
  4. object — a thing
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. spring — a coil
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. spring — of water
  10. can — to be able to
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. spring — the season
  15. cap — of ice
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wound — an injury
  18. object — an aim
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wound — an injury
  21. date — the fruit
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. can — a tin
  24. date — on the calendar

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