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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: leaves · tear · race · march · current · degree

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. current — happening now
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — electric
  5. march — the month
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tear — to rip
  9. race — the arms race
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. current — of water
  12. degree — temperature
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. leaves — lets stay

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