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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: press · drill · net · cabinet · race · degree

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. drill — army training
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. net — after costs
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. press — to push
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. press — newspapers
  13. degree — an amount
  14. net — in sport
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. net — for catching
  18. race — a contest

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