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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: leaves · wake · face · coach · race · spell · degree · capital

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. degree — an amount
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. degree — from a university
  9. face — to confront
  10. spell — a short time
  11. face — part of the head
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. wake — a trail
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. capital — money
  16. race — a contest
  17. face — to point toward
  18. degree — temperature
  19. race — humankind
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. race — the arms race
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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