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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: file · pitcher · degree · board · straw · band

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. 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. board — a flat piece
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. file — a tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. file — a document
  10. board — to get on
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. board — a committee
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. file — a line of people
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. 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