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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 116 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: degree · pound · rule · coach · race · present

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. present — there
  3. pound — a weight
  4. race — the arms race
  5. degree — from a university
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. present — a gift
  8. rule — government
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. race — humankind
  12. rule — a law
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. present — the time now
  15. race — a contest
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. degree — an amount

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