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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: bark · stock · race · pass · degree · perch · bulb · ground

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. ground — crushed
  3. race — a contest
  4. pass — a permit
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. degree — from a university
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. race — humankind
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. degree — temperature
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stock — goods
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ground — a position
  24. degree — an amount

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