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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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Word bank
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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: charge · deal · race · march · degree · bear

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. race — a contest
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. charge — a price
  6. march — music
  7. charge — in control
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. race — the arms race
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — humankind
  14. deal — to handle
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — from a university
  17. march — the month
  18. bear — the animal

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