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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. spell — magic
  3. stand — to bear
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a face
  8. wound — an injury
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rest — a break
  12. wound — an injury
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. rest — what's left
  16. degree — temperature
  17. spell — a short time
  18. degree — from a university
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. rest — what's left
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spell — letters
  24. stand — for spectators

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