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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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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: bass · bowl · craft · race · degree · tear · racket · toast

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. craft — boats
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. degree — temperature
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. race — the arms race
  10. degree — from a university
  11. tear — from crying
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. race — humankind
  14. bass — low music
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. race — a contest
  21. toast — bread
  22. bass — the fish
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bowl — to roll

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