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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: present · press · wax · march · file · race · roll · degree

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. present — a gift
  3. roll — a cake
  4. press — newspapers
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. march — the month
  8. present — there
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. file — a line of people
  12. race — a contest
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. degree — an amount
  15. press — a publisher
  16. roll — a list
  17. press — to push
  18. present — the time now
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. file — a tool
  22. race — humankind
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. file — a document

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