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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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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: bat · drill · kick · degree · present · coach

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. 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. present — the time now
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. drill — army training
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. present — there
  9. degree — an amount
  10. present — a gift
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. degree — temperature
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kick — in football
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. drill — a practice
  18. 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