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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: track · court · coach · capital · degree · cold · mug · plane

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. track — a song
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. degree — from a university
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mug — a face
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. track — a path
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cold — an illness
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. plane — a tool
  15. capital — a city
  16. cold — not warm
  17. court — of law
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — money
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. mug — to rob
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mug — a cup
  24. plane — an aircraft

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