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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · capital · club · squash · march · lie · pit · coach

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pit — a hole
  4. degree — temperature
  5. march — music
  6. capital — a city
  7. squash — the sport
  8. march — the month
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. club — for golf
  11. capital — money
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — a group
  15. pit — in a race
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. squash — to crush
  19. march — the month
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. lie — to recline
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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