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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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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: cap · game · perch · fine · degree · ball · bowl · race

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. race — a contest
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. race — the arms race
  8. fine — all right
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cap — a hat
  11. game — a match
  12. race — humankind
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fine — high quality
  15. game — wild animals
  16. ball — a dance
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cap — a lid
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. cap — of ice
  22. ball — a great time
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ball — a round shape

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