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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: lean · cap · row · degree · coach · spell · snap · mate

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. row — a line
  3. cap — a hat
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cap — a lid
  6. degree — from a university
  7. spell — a short time
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. row — to paddle
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. snap — to click
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. spell — magic
  17. mate — a partner
  18. lean — thin
  19. mate — a friend
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spell — letters
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cap — of ice

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