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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 116 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 · race · firm · bark · degree · land

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. land — ground
  3. degree — an amount
  4. craft — a skill
  5. bark — to shout
  6. firm — decided
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — from a university
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. land — to come down
  11. craft — boats
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. land — a country
  15. firm — steady
  16. degree — temperature
  17. race — humankind
  18. firm — a company

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