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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: kick · march · ball · saw · bat · degree · net · chip

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. march — music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. net — after costs
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chip — for betting
  10. kick — in football
  11. degree — from a university
  12. march — the month
  13. chip — to eat
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. ball — a great time
  16. net — in sport
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. net — for catching
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. march — the month
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. degree — temperature

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