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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: band · racket · pitch · file · stick · coach · spring · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. file — a line of people
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. band — a music group
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. spring — the season
  8. band — a ring
  9. spring — a coil
  10. degree — an amount
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. file — a tool
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. file — a document
  17. spring — of water
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pitch — completely

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