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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: fork · stand · kid · degree · root · race

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — the cause
  6. degree — temperature
  7. race — humankind
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. kid — child
  10. race — the arms race
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. race — a contest
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fork — in a road
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. root — of a plant
  18. stand — to bear

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