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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: craft · present · race · degree · bank · net

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. present — the time now
  2. net — after costs
  3. present — a gift
  4. net — for catching
  5. craft — boats
  6. present — there
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. race — humankind
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. degree — temperature
  12. craft — a skill
  13. degree — from a university
  14. race — a contest
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bank — for money
  17. net — in sport
  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