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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: race · degree · foot · track · lash · march · date · mine

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. march — music
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. foot — a measure
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. race — a contest
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. track — a path
  9. march — the month
  10. track — a song
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. degree — from a university
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. track — to keep track
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. march — the month

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