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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · trunk · pass · ball · march · race · key · degree

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. ball — a dance
  7. march — the month
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. hand — in cards
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. race — the arms race
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. race — humankind
  15. pass — a permit
  16. degree — temperature
  17. key — in music
  18. hand — help
  19. degree — from a university
  20. march — music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — the most important part
  23. ball — a great time
  24. march — the month

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