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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.

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: spell · chip · coach · degree · pitch · field · perch · clip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spell — letters
  4. degree — temperature
  5. clip — a video
  6. spell — magic
  7. pitch — completely
  8. chip — for betting
  9. field — a subject
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. degree — an amount
  15. spell — a short time
  16. field — farmland
  17. clip — for paper
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. clip — to cut
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. field — for sport
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. perch — for a bird

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