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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: degree · race · leaves · net · capital · racket · game · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. capital — money
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. race — humankind
  6. game — a match
  7. degree — an amount
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. net — after costs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. race — the arms race
  16. degree — temperature
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. capital — a city
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. degree — from a university
  24. race — a contest

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