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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: capital · coach · suit · degree · pitcher · chest · arm · cold

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. suit — to fit
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. capital — money
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. suit — clothes
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. suit — in cards
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. arm — part of the body

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