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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: race · pit · chip · degree · pass · wind

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pass — a permit
  5. chip — for betting
  6. race — a contest
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. race — the arms race
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — in a computer

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