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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: stick · coach · game · scale · cap · tear · mate · row

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cap — a hat
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. row — a line
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cap — a lid
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mate — a partner
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mate — to breed
  19. tear — to rip
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. game — a match
  24. cap — of ice

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