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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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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: chair · racket · race · wave · degree · fall

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. degree — an amount
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. degree — temperature
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. fall — the season
  18. race — humankind

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