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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 120 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: coach · bowl · degree · race · lash · pitcher · rash · straw

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. race — humankind
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. race — a contest
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. rash — a series
  23. race — the arms race
  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