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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: object · degree · squash · chair · lash · spring · race · press

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. degree — from a university
  3. press — to push
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. object — a thing
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. press — newspapers
  9. object — to protest
  10. squash — to crush
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. race — the arms race
  14. press — a publisher
  15. spring — of water
  16. squash — the sport
  17. chair — a leader
  18. race — humankind
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. spring — a coil
  21. degree — an amount
  22. object — an aim
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. spring — the season

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