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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: ground · present · kid · racket · degree · race

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. present — there
  4. ground — the earth
  5. race — a contest
  6. ground — crushed
  7. present — the time now
  8. race — the arms race
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — to tease
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. ground — a position
  14. degree — an amount
  15. present — a gift
  16. degree — from a university
  17. race — humankind
  18. kid — child

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