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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: fall · bear · degree · kid · race · fine

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bear — the animal
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. kid — to tease
  11. race — the arms race
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fine — high quality
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. fall — to drop
  16. race — humankind
  17. fine — all right
  18. fall — the season

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