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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: current · kick · bark · deal · net · race · degree · club

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. net — in sport
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. degree — an amount
  5. club — for golf
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. race — a contest
  10. bark — to shout
  11. club — a group
  12. degree — from a university
  13. race — the arms race
  14. net — for catching
  15. current — of water
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. race — humankind
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. deal — to handle
  20. current — happening now
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. net — after costs
  23. current — electric
  24. club — for dancing

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