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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: racket · march · staff · race · snap · wax · degree · ground

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. staff — employees
  3. race — a contest
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. race — humankind
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. march — music
  9. ground — a position
  10. race — the arms race
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. degree — an amount
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. staff — employees
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ground — crushed
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. staff — a stick
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. snap — to click
  24. ground — the earth

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