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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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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: pound · craft · tube · race · row · degree · game · mate

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mate — to breed
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pound — a weight
  9. race — humankind
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tube — the underground
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. tube — a container
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. degree — from a university
  17. race — the arms race
  18. row — a line
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. game — a match
  21. race — a contest
  22. degree — an amount
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. craft — boats

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