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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 116 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 · swing · wake · land · scale · straw · coach · degree

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. band — a music group
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — temperature
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. land — a country
  8. swing — music
  9. scale — in music
  10. land — ground
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wake — a trail
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. band — a ring
  17. degree — an amount
  18. scale — size or range
  19. land — to come down
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. degree — from a university
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — to play on

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