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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 · track · bank · snap · degree · bat · suit · pitch

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. hand — help
  3. track — to keep track
  4. degree — an amount
  5. track — a song
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. suit — in cards
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. snap — to click
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. suit — to fit
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bank — of a river
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bank — for money
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. degree — from a university
  19. suit — clothes
  20. degree — temperature
  21. hand — in cards
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bat — the animal
  24. track — a path

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