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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: race · track · press · trunk · degree · mate

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. race — the arms race
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. race — humankind
  6. degree — temperature
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. track — a path
  9. press — to push
  10. mate — a friend
  11. press — a publisher
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a partner
  14. degree — from a university
  15. track — a song
  16. press — newspapers
  17. track — to keep track
  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