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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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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: degree · deal · safe · drill · race · pitch

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. drill — army training
  3. deal — to handle
  4. race — humankind
  5. degree — temperature
  6. drill — a practice
  7. race — a contest
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. degree — from a university
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. drill — the tool
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field

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