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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 · content · race · bear · fall · chip

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chip — to eat
  3. race — a contest
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. race — the arms race
  6. fall — the season
  7. degree — temperature
  8. content — the amount
  9. race — humankind
  10. chip — for betting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — an amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. fall — to drop

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