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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: coach · present · pound · court · capital · degree

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. degree — from a university
  3. present — there
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. court — of a king
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. court — of law
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. degree — temperature
  10. present — the time now
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. court — for sport
  16. degree — an amount
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pound — a weight

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