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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: rock · degree · bank · face · bat · coach · swing · file

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  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. swing — in golf
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. file — a tool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bank — for money
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. file — a document
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bank — for money
  14. rock — music
  15. file — a line of people
  16. swing — to play on
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. swing — music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bank — of a river
  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