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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 120 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: stem · game · racket · bear · race · degree

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bear — the animal
  5. race — humankind
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. degree — temperature
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. degree — an amount
  14. race — a contest
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stem — to come from

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