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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: degree · chair · lie · race · sharp · pop · march · pass

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. lie — to recline
  3. race — the arms race
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. march — the month
  6. pop — soda
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pop — to visit
  9. march — music
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pop — music
  12. march — the month
  13. race — humankind
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. degree — an amount
  16. race — a contest
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. pass — to spend time

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