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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: kick · degree · bat · coach · bowl · pit

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kick — in football
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a hole
  14. degree — temperature
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bat — for baseball

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