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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: tube · spring · pitcher · club · wake · degree · coach · lash

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. degree — from a university
  3. club — a group
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wake — a trail
  7. club — for dancing
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. club — for golf
  18. tube — a container
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tube — the underground
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. wake — before a funeral

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