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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: nail · bank · bat · degree · tube · calf · cell · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cell — a phone
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tube — a container
  9. bank — for money
  10. roll — a list
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bat — the animal
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bank — for money
  18. cell — in biology
  19. degree — an amount
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bank — of a river

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