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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: hand · bat · hide · bank · race · coach · degree · date

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bank — of a river
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — the animal
  7. date — the fruit
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — from a university
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bank — for money
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. hand — help
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. race — a contest
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bank — for money
  24. hand — in cards

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