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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: degree · can · pit · bat · drill · band · lash · deal

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. can — a tin
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. can — a tin
  5. degree — from a university
  6. band — a ring
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. pit — a hole
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. pit — in a race
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. can — to be able to
  18. deal — to handle
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. degree — temperature
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bat — the animal
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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