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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: current · degree · file · coach · pitch · deal · mine · leaves

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. current — happening now
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. file — a document
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. current — electric
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. mine — for digging
  14. current — of water
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pitch — completely
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. file — a line of people
  20. degree — from a university
  21. file — a tool
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. leaves — to go away

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