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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: fork · race · degree · bowl · ball · mate

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. race — the arms race
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ball — a great time
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. mate — to breed
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ball — a dance

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