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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: tear · rash · present · race · bark · field · degree · bowl

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bark — to shout
  3. present — the time now
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. field — for sport
  6. race — a contest
  7. tear — from crying
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. race — humankind
  11. field — farmland
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rash — a series
  18. field — a subject
  19. present — a gift
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. rash — hasty
  23. present — there
  24. tear — to rip

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