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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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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: face · staff · racket · last · bay · degree · object · race

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. degree — an amount
  3. staff — employees
  4. object — to protest
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. last — final
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. last — to go on
  9. face — to point toward
  10. last — finally
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. face — to confront
  14. race — humankind
  15. object — a thing
  16. degree — from a university
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. staff — a stick
  19. degree — temperature
  20. race — a contest
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. race — the arms race
  23. staff — employees
  24. face — part of the head

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