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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: arm · trunk · clip · track · nail · press · degree · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. object — to protest
  6. degree — from a university
  7. clip — to cut
  8. press — to push
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. object — an aim
  12. track — a path
  13. press — newspapers
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. press — a publisher
  18. track — to keep track
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. clip — a video
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. track — a song
  23. clip — for paper
  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