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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: sharp · press · rest · last · stick · mate · degree · race

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. press — to push
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. race — the arms race
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. press — newspapers
  13. degree — an amount
  14. last — to go on
  15. mate — to breed
  16. last — finally
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. last — final
  19. rest — a break
  20. degree — temperature
  21. press — a publisher
  22. rest — what's left
  23. race — humankind
  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