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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: racket · degree · mouse · pop · stick · bat · row · race

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. race — the arms race
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. race — humankind
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. race — a contest
  12. pop — soda
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. row — to paddle
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. row — a line
  20. bat — the animal
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. pop — music
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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