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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 · tear · wake · dip · race · chair · press · drill

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. degree — from a university
  4. drill — army training
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — temperature
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. press — to push
  13. drill — a practice
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — an amount
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. drill — the tool
  19. dip — to sink
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. race — a contest
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. tear — from crying

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