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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: deal · race · track · saw · spell · mouse · tear · degree

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. degree — from a university
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. tear — from crying
  6. degree — an amount
  7. race — a contest
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. spell — a short time
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. race — humankind
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. tear — to rip
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. track — a path
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spell — letters
  24. saw — the tool

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