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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: wake · tear · present · degree · race · firm

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. present — there
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. present — a gift
  6. race — the arms race
  7. firm — steady
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — an amount
  11. race — humankind
  12. present — the time now
  13. degree — temperature
  14. firm — a company
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wake — a trail
  17. race — a contest
  18. firm — decided

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