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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: straw · degree · date · race · march · toast

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. march — the month
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. march — the month
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. degree — temperature
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. march — music
  16. toast — bread
  17. date — the fruit
  18. race — the arms race

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