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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: march · field · straw · coach · roll · bound · degree · bat

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bat — the animal
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. roll — a list
  14. bound — obliged
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. march — the month
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. degree — temperature
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. roll — a cake

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