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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: mate · degree · key · race · board · current · kid · tear

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. mate — a friend
  3. current — electric
  4. kid — child
  5. mate — a partner
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tear — from crying
  8. key — in music
  9. board — to get on
  10. degree — from a university
  11. current — of water
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. key — the most important part
  14. race — humankind
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kid — to tease
  17. race — a contest
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mate — to breed
  21. board — a committee
  22. current — happening now
  23. tear — to rip
  24. degree — temperature

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