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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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Word bank
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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: mate · hide · bark · degree · race · band

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. race — humankind
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. bark — to shout
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. band — a music group
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. degree — temperature
  13. band — a ring
  14. mate — a partner
  15. degree — an amount
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bark — of a tree
  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