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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: saw · press · cabinet · wound · squash · race · degree · key

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. key — for a lock
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — an amount
  5. press — to push
  6. key — the most important part
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. key — in music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. press — newspapers
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. squash — the sport
  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