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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: pitcher · object · degree · calf · lash · bat · kid · hand

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. degree — an amount
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bat — the animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. kid — child
  11. object — a thing
  12. hand — in cards
  13. object — to protest
  14. hand — help
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. object — an aim
  24. pitcher — a jug

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