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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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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 · hand · race · bowl · chair

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. pit — a hole
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — a contest
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. degree — an amount
  16. hand — help
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. race — humankind

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