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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: stock · craft · field · degree · perch · bowl · race · track

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. craft — a skill
  3. field — farmland
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. craft — boats
  6. field — a subject
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. perch — the fish
  10. track — a song
  11. field — for sport
  12. race — humankind
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. race — a contest
  20. stock — goods
  21. track — a path
  22. degree — an amount
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — the arms race

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