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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: fork · degree · race · mouse · capital · club · pound · spell

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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 — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. degree — an amount
  4. club — for golf
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. race — humankind
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. club — for dancing
  10. capital — a city
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. spell — a short time
  14. club — a group
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. spell — letters
  17. capital — money
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pound — a weight
  20. spell — magic
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. fork — in a road
  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