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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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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: can · pitcher · hand · race · kid · pop · degree · mark

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. kid — child
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pop — music
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. can — a tin
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. mark — a grade
  16. can — to be able to
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mark — a trace
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hand — help
  22. can — a tin
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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