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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 · tear · pound · degree · craft · chair

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. race — the arms race
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. tear — from crying
  6. degree — temperature
  7. race — humankind
  8. craft — a skill
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chair — a leader
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pound — a weight
  15. race — a contest
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. craft — boats

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