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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: bark · degree · patient · pitcher · safe · plane · race · mate

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. degree — an amount
  6. race — a contest
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. degree — temperature
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. degree — from a university
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. race — the arms race
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. safe — out of danger

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