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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. foot — a measure
  3. sharp — clever
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. capital — money
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pop — soda
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. capital — a city
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pop — to visit
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pop — music
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. degree — from a university
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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