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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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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 · cell · rest · kick · wind · degree

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. kick — in football
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rest — what's left
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rest — a break
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wind — moving air
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wind — moving air
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kick — with a leg

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