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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. 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 — an amount
  2. pit — in a race
  3. press — a publisher
  4. race — humankind
  5. cue — a signal
  6. race — a contest
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. cue — for pool
  9. press — to push
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cue — a hint
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pit — a hole
  18. 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