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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: pitcher · tear · pop · stem · net · coach · degree · dip

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pop — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pop — soda
  9. stem — to come from
  10. tear — from crying
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pop — to visit
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. degree — from a university
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. degree — an amount

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