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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: degree · foot · fall · mug · fan · court · capital · coach

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mug — to rob
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — money
  7. court — of law
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. foot — a measure
  10. fall — to drop
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. court — of a king
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mug — a face
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fall — the season
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. court — for sport
  24. mug — a cup

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