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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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468
Word bank
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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cell — in biology
  3. degree — from a university
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bank — for money
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bank — of a river
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. racket — a loud noise

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