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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 116 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 · wind · mark · land · racket · degree · coach · lash

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. degree — from a university
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. land — ground
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. land — to come down
  22. mark — a trace
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. land — a country

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