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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: march · degree · deal · race · sharp · bowl

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. deal — to handle
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. degree — an amount
  6. sharp — clever
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. march — music
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. race — humankind
  15. degree — temperature
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. race — a contest

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