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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: cell · coach · bear · capital · plane · perch · chest · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. perch — the fish
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. capital — a city
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. capital — money
  14. plane — a tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pop — soda
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bear — the animal

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