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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.

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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: fork · straw · nail · degree · pit · court · lie · craft

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. court — of law
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. degree — an amount
  10. lie — to recline
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pit — a hole
  14. court — for sport
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pit — in a race
  17. fork — in a road
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. court — of a king
  21. craft — boats
  22. degree — from a university
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. craft — a skill

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