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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 120 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: race · board · current · bear · degree · cap · hand · field

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. field — a subject
  3. race — a contest
  4. board — a committee
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hand — in cards
  7. current — of water
  8. field — farmland
  9. current — electric
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bear — the animal
  14. current — happening now
  15. cap — a hat
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. race — humankind
  19. field — for sport
  20. hand — help
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bear — to put up with

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