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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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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: tear · race · suit · row · present · degree

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — the time now
  4. suit — clothes
  5. present — there
  6. row — a line
  7. race — the arms race
  8. degree — temperature
  9. suit — in cards
  10. degree — from a university
  11. race — humankind
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. tear — to rip
  14. suit — to fit
  15. degree — an amount
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — a contest
  18. row — to paddle

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