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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: sharp · wound · coach · spell · row · fan · capital · leaves

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. row — to paddle
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. spell — magic
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spell — letters
  11. capital — a city
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — a short time
  20. row — a line
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. capital — money

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