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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: coach · rest · racket · wound · stick · ball · deal · degree

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wound — an injury
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. deal — to handle
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. degree — from a university
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. rest — a break
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. degree — an amount
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. degree — temperature
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. rest — what's left
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rest — what's left

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