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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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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 · bat · band · firm · season · race · track · content

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. degree — temperature
  3. firm — a company
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. track — a song
  6. band — a music group
  7. track — to keep track
  8. season — in sport
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. content — the amount
  11. band — a ring
  12. season — of the year
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. content — happy
  16. race — the arms race
  17. track — a path
  18. race — a contest
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bat — the animal
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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