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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 116 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: wind · spell · race · prune · coach · chair · hide · capital

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. spell — letters
  4. capital — money
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. chair — a leader
  10. capital — a city
  11. spell — magic
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. race — humankind
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — a contest
  19. spell — a short time
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chair — a professorship

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