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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: bowl · toast · hand · degree · bank · chest · rash · craft

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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. degree — an amount
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. hand — help
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bank — for money
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. chest — a box
  11. toast — bread
  12. craft — a skill
  13. rash — a series
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bank — for money
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. craft — boats
  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