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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: court · race · tube · rock · bear · jam · degree · wake

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. rock — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. degree — from a university
  7. race — humankind
  8. wake — a trail
  9. court — of a king
  10. race — a contest
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. tube — the underground
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. tube — a container
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. rock — a stone
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. race — the arms race
  24. degree — an amount

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