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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: mark · bore · pass · field · straw · degree · race · mine

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. field — a subject
  4. mark — a trace
  5. degree — temperature
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pass — a permit
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. degree — an amount
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mark — a grade
  14. degree — from a university
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. race — a contest
  21. bore — to tire
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pass — to spend time

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