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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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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: rash · wound · bank · arm · degree · bat · wind · mug

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mug — a cup
  4. rash — a series
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bank — for money
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bank — for money
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bank — of a river
  14. wound — an injury
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mug — a face
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mug — to rob

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