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

Word bank: degree · field · fork · race · can · snap · land · press

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. fork — in a road
  4. press — to push
  5. land — a country
  6. snap — to click
  7. race — humankind
  8. field — a subject
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. field — for sport
  13. can — a tin
  14. land — ground
  15. race — a contest
  16. degree — an amount
  17. land — to come down
  18. field — farmland
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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