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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: mate · stick · fall · march · degree · plane · straw · coach

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fall — to drop
  6. march — the month
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fall — the season
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — from a university
  19. plane — a tool
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. march — music
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mate — a friend
  24. fall — to drop

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