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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: wound · cell · spell · capital · face · coach · calf · bound

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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. calf — of the leg
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spell — letters
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — magic
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. capital — a city
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wound — an injury
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bound — obliged
  19. face — part of the head
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. capital — money
  24. bound — certain

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