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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. game — a match
  6. degree — an amount
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. season — in sport
  10. stock — goods
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. stock — shares
  17. pitch — completely
  18. band — a ring
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. degree — from a university
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. patient — a sick person

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