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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 · capital · rule · shower · net · date · staff · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. capital — a city
  5. net — for catching
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rule — government
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. shower — rain
  11. staff — a stick
  12. net — in sport
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. date — the fruit
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. staff — employees
  18. rule — a law
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. capital — money
  21. staff — employees
  22. net — after costs
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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