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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 · degree · key · coach · suit · band · straw · kick

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. march — music
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. band — a music group
  8. degree — an amount
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. key — the most important part
  11. suit — clothes
  12. suit — in cards
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. key — in music
  17. key — for a lock
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. suit — to fit
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. degree — from a university

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