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

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. degree — from a university
  3. race — humankind
  4. mate — to breed
  5. root — the cause
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mate — a friend
  8. press — newspapers
  9. branch — a division
  10. degree — temperature
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. degree — an amount
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. race — the arms race
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mate — a partner
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. drill — the tool
  24. game — a match

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