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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 120 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: bulb · scale · capital · file · stand · bat · game · coach

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bulb — for light
  8. scale — in music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. file — a document
  13. scale — size or range
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. capital — money
  17. bulb — for light
  18. game — a match
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. capital — a city
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. capital — a big letter

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