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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: degree · press · wake · content · ground · nail · race · key

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. press — newspapers
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. content — happy
  7. wake — a trail
  8. race — humankind
  9. ground — a position
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. ground — the earth
  12. content — the amount
  13. press — a publisher
  14. key — in music
  15. race — a contest
  16. ground — crushed
  17. press — to push
  18. key — the most important part
  19. race — the arms race
  20. key — for a lock
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. degree — an amount

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