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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 116 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: degree · key · bear · leaves · tear · race · stand · ground

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. ground — crushed
  3. degree — temperature
  4. tear — from crying
  5. key — the most important part
  6. tear — from crying
  7. key — in music
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tear — to rip
  12. race — a contest
  13. ground — a position
  14. race — the arms race
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. race — humankind
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. stand — to bear
  22. key — for a lock
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ground — the earth

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