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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · spell · court · wound · patient · bowl · coach · degree

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. spell — magic
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. spell — letters
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. degree — from a university
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. march — music
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. court — of a king
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. march — the month

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