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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: scale · coach · straw · hand · net · track · pop · capital

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pop — to visit
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. scale — in music
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pop — music
  14. hand — help
  15. pop — soda
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. net — for catching
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. hand — in cards
  21. capital — money
  22. net — after costs
  23. track — a song
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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