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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · stand · clip · pitcher · kid · nail · degree · staff

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stand — to bear
  7. kid — to tease
  8. degree — from a university
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. degree — temperature
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. staff — employees
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. kid — child
  24. nail — for a hammer

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