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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: coach · rule · degree · field · pitcher · wake · march · mug

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. degree — temperature
  2. mug — a face
  3. march — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. march — the month
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. field — farmland
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — for sport
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rule — government
  16. wake — a trail
  17. march — the month
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. mug — to rob
  20. rule — a law
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. field — a subject
  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