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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: degree · rock · ball · clip · spell · pitch · drill · coach

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pitch — completely
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. drill — a practice
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rock — music
  7. drill — army training
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. clip — a video
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. degree — from a university
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. spell — letters
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a great time
  18. rock — a stone
  19. degree — an amount
  20. spell — magic
  21. clip — to cut
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. degree — temperature

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