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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.

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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: staff · rash · capital · spring · wave · drill · coach · cap

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. staff — a stick
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cap — of ice
  4. capital — a city
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. spring — the season
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. staff — employees
  11. spring — a coil
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. drill — the tool
  17. staff — employees
  18. cap — a hat
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. rash — hasty
  21. spring — of water
  22. rash — a series
  23. drill — army training
  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