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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: saw · kick · bat · band · pit · degree · bank · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bank — for money
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bank — for money
  10. pit — a hole
  11. roll — a list
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. degree — from a university
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. degree — temperature
  18. band — a ring
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bank — of a river
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. kick — in football
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bat — the animal

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