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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: toast · current · fork · mark · hand · race · degree · wave

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. current — happening now
  6. degree — from a university
  7. race — the arms race
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. degree — temperature
  11. hand — in cards
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mark — a grade
  14. toast — bread
  15. fork — in a road
  16. current — of water
  17. race — a contest
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. current — electric
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. hand — help
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wave — of the sea

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