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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: bat · bank · race · foot · degree · swing

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. foot — a measure
  5. swing — in golf
  6. race — humankind
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bank — for money
  13. race — a contest
  14. swing — music
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. race — the arms race
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bank — for money

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