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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: tube · row · court · degree · perch · staff · press · race

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tube — the underground
  6. court — of a king
  7. degree — from a university
  8. court — for sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. press — newspapers
  11. row — to paddle
  12. court — of law
  13. race — a contest
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. race — the arms race
  16. degree — an amount
  17. press — to push
  18. perch — the fish
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. press — a publisher
  22. row — a line
  23. staff — a stick
  24. degree — temperature

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