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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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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: capital · craft · kid · chest · coach · toast · present · board

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. chest — of your body
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. craft — a skill
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. present — a gift
  10. board — to get on
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — there
  13. kid — child
  14. craft — boats
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. kid — to tease
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. board — a committee
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. craft — a handicraft
  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