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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 120 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: bank · pitcher · sharp · march · field · swing · band · degree

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — an amount
  3. field — for sport
  4. march — music
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a ring
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. degree — temperature
  14. band — a music group
  15. degree — from a university
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bank — for money
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. field — farmland
  23. march — the month
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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