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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: last · club · field · race · degree · fork

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. club — a group
  3. fork — in a road
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. degree — an amount
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. race — the arms race
  13. last — finally
  14. race — a contest
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. race — humankind
  18. degree — from a university

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