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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: mate · clip · degree · coach · march · racket · deal · pop

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. deal — to handle
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pop — to visit
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pop — soda
  7. mate — a partner
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — for paper
  10. degree — an amount
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — a video
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. march — music
  20. pop — music
  21. march — the month
  22. degree — temperature
  23. clip — to cut
  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