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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: bat · clip · row · roll · kick · bank · key · degree

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. key — for a lock
  5. row — to paddle
  6. roll — a list
  7. bank — for money
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bat — the animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. key — in music
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. row — a line
  15. roll — a cake
  16. key — the most important part
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bank — for money
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. degree — temperature
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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