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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 116 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: press · hand · nail · object · row · spell · degree · leaves

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. press — to push
  3. spell — magic
  4. degree — an amount
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. hand — in cards
  8. press — newspapers
  9. object — to protest
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spell — letters
  12. object — an aim
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spell — a short time
  17. hand — help
  18. degree — from a university
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. press — a publisher
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. degree — temperature
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. nail — for a hammer

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