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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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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: race · capital · hand · hide · rest · fork · coach · degree

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fork — in a road
  3. rest — what's left
  4. degree — temperature
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rest — a break
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rest — what's left
  12. capital — a city
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hand — help
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. race — humankind
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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