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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 120 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: stand · wind · mug · perch · coach · field · capital · kick

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. perch — the fish
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — a face
  7. field — a subject
  8. stand — to bear
  9. kick — in football
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. field — for sport
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — farmland
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. capital — a city
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mug — to rob
  23. coach — a trainer
  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