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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: degree · board · mate · net · spring · race · pit · hand

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pit — a hole
  7. net — in sport
  8. spring — the season
  9. board — a committee
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. degree — from a university
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. spring — of water
  16. mate — a friend
  17. board — to get on
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pit — in a race
  24. hand — help

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