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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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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 · degree · rock · cell · coach · fork

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — music
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stand — to bear
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cell — a phone
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. degree — temperature
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fork — a garden tool

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