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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: race · stick · cap · face · degree · wake

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. race — a contest
  6. degree — an amount
  7. face — to confront
  8. degree — temperature
  9. face — to point toward
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cap — a hat
  17. face — part of the head
  18. race — the arms race

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