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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: fine · content · mark · march · present · degree · race · lash

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. present — the time now
  3. content — happy
  4. race — humankind
  5. degree — temperature
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. race — a contest
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. march — the month
  13. mark — a grade
  14. content — the amount
  15. fine — high quality
  16. present — there
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fine — all right
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. march — the month
  23. present — a gift
  24. march — music

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