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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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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 · drill · snap · race · nail · branch · chest · object

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. drill — the tool
  2. branch — a division
  3. drill — army training
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — a contest
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. object — an aim
  9. drill — a practice
  10. degree — from a university
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. race — the arms race
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. object — a thing
  16. degree — temperature
  17. race — humankind
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. snap — to click
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. object — to protest
  23. degree — an amount
  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