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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: fall · band · kick · present · nail · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kick — in football
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. present — a gift
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. present — there
  10. fall — to drop
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. band — a ring
  13. present — the time now
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. fall — the season
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. band — a music group
  18. degree — temperature

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