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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: present · spring · race · dip · degree · bear

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bear — the animal
  3. race — a contest
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. race — humankind
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — the season
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — temperature
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. present — there
  15. race — the arms race
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bear — the animal
  18. present — the time now

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