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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: perch · toast · coach · cold · board · chip · degree · pop

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. board — to get on
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chip — for betting
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — bread
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pop — soda
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. board — a committee
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. chip — to eat
  24. degree — from a university

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