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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 116 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 · bat · suit · pit · hand · row · straw · drill

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — army training
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pit — in a race
  6. suit — to fit
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — the animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. suit — clothes
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hand — help
  17. drill — the tool
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. row — a line
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. suit — in cards

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