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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: swing · march · pitcher · scale · tube · degree · staff · band

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. staff — employees
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. scale — size or range
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. tube — a container
  7. swing — in golf
  8. march — music
  9. swing — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. march — the month
  12. tube — the underground
  13. band — a music group
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. staff — employees
  17. band — a ring
  18. swing — to play on
  19. staff — a stick
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. march — the month
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. scale — in music

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