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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: coach · degree · net · fan · tube · wind · branch · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — temperature
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. tube — a container
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wind — moving air
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. net — for catching
  17. branch — a division
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. degree — from a university
  20. net — in sport
  21. tube — the underground
  22. degree — an amount
  23. net — after costs
  24. wind — moving air

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