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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 · stick · drill · mark · face · root · last · degree

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. drill — army training
  4. last — final
  5. root — of a word
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. degree — an amount
  8. root — the cause
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — to point toward
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. root — of a plant
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. race — humankind
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mark — a trace
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. face — part of the head

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