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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: lie · racket · track · degree · field · race · tear · craft

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. tear — to rip
  3. degree — an amount
  4. field — for sport
  5. race — the arms race
  6. degree — from a university
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lie — to recline
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. track — a song
  12. craft — a skill
  13. race — humankind
  14. field — a subject
  15. race — a contest
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. tear — from crying
  19. field — farmland
  20. tear — from crying
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. racket — a loud noise

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