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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 116 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
468
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: season · degree · land · object · race · press · content · perch

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. object — an aim
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. press — a publisher
  6. race — the arms race
  7. season — of the year
  8. object — to protest
  9. degree — temperature
  10. race — a contest
  11. season — in sport
  12. content — the amount
  13. object — a thing
  14. perch — the fish
  15. press — to push
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. degree — an amount
  19. race — humankind
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. degree — from a university
  22. press — newspapers
  23. land — ground
  24. content — happy

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