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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: craft · court · bat · bank · degree · straw · kick · patient

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. degree — temperature
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bank — of a river
  7. kick — in football
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bank — for money
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. court — of a king
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bat — the animal
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. court — of law
  22. degree — an amount
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. court — for sport

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