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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: rest · bat · date · degree · race · last · bank · perch

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bank — for money
  3. rest — what's left
  4. date — the fruit
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. last — finally
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. last — to go on
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bat — the animal
  22. last — final
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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