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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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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: bore · spring · racket · race · degree · fork

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spring — of water
  6. race — the arms race
  7. fork — in a road
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spring — a coil
  11. race — humankind
  12. bore — to tire
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. race — a contest
  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