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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: spring · pop · wake · race · chair · degree · fine · kid

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fine — high quality
  4. race — humankind
  5. pop — soda
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. degree — from a university
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. degree — an amount
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pop — music
  15. chair — a leader
  16. race — a contest
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. kid — child
  24. fine — all right

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