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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: press · craft · staff · degree · roll · ground · root · race

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. roll — a cake
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. race — the arms race
  5. staff — employees
  6. race — humankind
  7. ground — crushed
  8. degree — temperature
  9. press — a publisher
  10. craft — a skill
  11. race — a contest
  12. press — newspapers
  13. craft — boats
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. root — of a word
  17. degree — from a university
  18. press — to push
  19. root — the cause
  20. staff — employees
  21. root — of a plant
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. staff — a stick
  24. roll — a list

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