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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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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: date · coach · saw · racket · wind · mouse · degree · club

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — a group
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. saw — the tool
  9. club — for golf
  10. degree — from a university
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. degree — temperature
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — an amount
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. racket — for tennis

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