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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: toast · coach · branch · pitcher · snap · degree · lean · swing

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lean — thin
  6. degree — temperature
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. toast — bread
  9. swing — in golf
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. swing — music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — to bend
  20. degree — from a university
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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