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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 120 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 · kick · file · race · chair · bear

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. file — a document
  3. race — humankind
  4. bear — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chair — a leader
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. race — the arms race
  10. file — a tool
  11. kick — in football
  12. degree — from a university
  13. race — a contest
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chair — to sit on

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