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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: degree · stock · tube · press · rule · race

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rule — government
  6. stock — goods
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stock — shares
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. tube — a container
  14. race — a contest
  15. degree — from a university
  16. tube — the underground
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rule — a law

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