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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: game · racket · rash · roll · degree · dip · last · lean

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. dip — to sink
  3. lean — thin
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. rash — hasty
  9. last — finally
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. last — to go on
  12. degree — temperature
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. lean — to bend
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. roll — a cake
  17. degree — an amount
  18. last — final
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rash — a series
  21. roll — a list
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. degree — from a university
  24. game — a match

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