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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: season · march · race · rule · degree · straw · racket · stand

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. stand — to bear
  8. march — music
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rule — government
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. race — humankind
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — temperature
  20. march — the month
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. rule — a law
  24. racket — for tennis

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