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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bank — for money
  3. scale — in music
  4. bank — of a river
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. hand — help
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. hand — in cards
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bank — for money
  19. firm — decided
  20. cell — a phone
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — steady
  23. pit — in a race
  24. degree — temperature

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