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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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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: fine · mate · rule · perch · race · cap · press · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mate — a partner
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mate — a friend
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. fine — all right
  12. cap — a hat
  13. fine — high quality
  14. press — newspapers
  15. perch — the fish
  16. mate — to breed
  17. race — a contest
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. degree — an amount
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. race — humankind
  24. perch — for a bird

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