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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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468
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: rash · sharp · bank · roll · bat · ruler · rule · degree

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bank — for money
  4. degree — an amount
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bat — the animal
  10. degree — from a university
  11. roll — a list
  12. rule — government
  13. degree — temperature
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rule — a law
  19. bank — for money
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rash — a series
  24. bank — of a river

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