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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 · pop · saw · bank · mark · bat · lash · tear

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bank — for money
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bank — for money
  9. pop — music
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. bat — the animal
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pop — to visit
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bank — of a river
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. degree — temperature
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pop — soda

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