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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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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 · pitch · degree · march · racket · wave · coach · chair

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — an amount
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. march — music
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. chair — a leader
  8. march — the month
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. march — the month
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. degree — temperature
  15. perch — the fish
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pitch — completely
  20. degree — from a university
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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