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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · rash · march · bore · degree · race

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — newspapers
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. race — a contest
  7. degree — an amount
  8. march — the month
  9. bore — to tire
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bore — to drill
  12. race — the arms race
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. race — humankind
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. rash — a series
  18. press — to push

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