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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: race · present · bat · firm · wave · degree

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. degree — an amount
  3. race — a contest
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. firm — steady
  6. present — there
  7. present — a gift
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. present — the time now
  10. firm — a company
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. race — the arms race
  17. degree — from a university
  18. race — humankind

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