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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.

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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: rest · mine · prune · vault · fan · coach · pit · capital

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rest — a break
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pit — in a race
  5. capital — money
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. capital — a city
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. mine — for digging
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. vault — a safe
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pit — a hole
  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