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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 · arm · clip · wake · degree · object · fan

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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. craft — a skill
  4. object — to protest
  5. clip — for paper
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. degree — temperature
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. object — a thing
  17. press — to push
  18. craft — boats
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. clip — a video
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wake — a trail

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