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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 116 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lean — thin
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — a city
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ball — a dance
  14. capital — money
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spell — magic
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. spell — letters
  24. ball — a great time

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