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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: deal · sharp · snap · wind · coach · capital · fan · band

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. band — a ring
  3. sharp — clever
  4. deal — to handle
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. snap — to click
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. capital — a city
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. capital — money
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. band — a music group
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wind — moving air
  24. deal — an agreement

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