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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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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: rush · race · deal · chip · bank · bat · key · degree

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. race — a contest
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bank — for money
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chip — for betting
  13. race — humankind
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. rush — hurry
  16. key — in music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bank — of a river
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. key — for a lock
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bank — for money
  23. key — the most important part
  24. deal — to handle

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