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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: present · bat · degree · staff · race · file

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. file — a tool
  3. staff — employees
  4. present — a gift
  5. file — a document
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bat — the animal
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. present — there
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. present — the time now
  15. file — a line of people
  16. staff — employees
  17. degree — temperature
  18. staff — a stick

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