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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: coach · drill · dip · capital · cold · mark · sharp · stem

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. mark — a trace
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. sharp — clever
  7. drill — a practice
  8. capital — a city
  9. dip — to sink
  10. drill — the tool
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stem — to come from
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mark — a grade
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. drill — army training
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. dip — a sauce
  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