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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: deal · wave · bat · degree · cabinet · clip · court · saw

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. clip — a video
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. deal — to handle
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. clip — to cut
  22. court — of a king
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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