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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 120 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
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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: mouse · degree · stock · staff · nail · spring · clip · ball

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. ball — a great time
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. ball — a dance
  9. degree — temperature
  10. spring — a coil
  11. clip — to cut
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stock — shares
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. staff — employees
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. staff — a stick
  19. spring — of water
  20. clip — a video
  21. stock — goods
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. staff — employees

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