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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: toast · pitcher · firm · ground · degree · press · race · last

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. press — to push
  3. degree — an amount
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. ground — a position
  8. firm — decided
  9. last — final
  10. degree — temperature
  11. firm — a company
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ground — crushed
  15. degree — from a university
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. toast — bread
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. ground — the earth
  23. press — a publisher
  24. race — a contest

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