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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: foot · cold · ball · prune · coach · deal · degree · capital

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. capital — money
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — an illness
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ball — a dance
  15. capital — a city
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cold — not warm
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. foot — a measure
  21. prune — to trim
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. deal — to handle
  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