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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: nail · race · wax · press · object · mate · bat · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. object — an aim
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. object — to protest
  6. wax — to grow
  7. press — to push
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. race — humankind
  10. degree — temperature
  11. race — a contest
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. mate — a partner
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. object — a thing
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mate — a friend
  22. press — a publisher
  23. mate — to breed
  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