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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: craft · fork · object · race · bulb · hand · cue · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. race — a contest
  4. hand — in cards
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cue — for pool
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bulb — for light
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — a signal
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. craft — boats
  18. bulb — for light
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. degree — temperature
  21. hand — help
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bulb — of a plant

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