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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: pit · degree · board · race · present · wind

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. present — the time now
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. pit — in a race
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. degree — an amount
  14. race — humankind
  15. board — to get on
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air

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