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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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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: mine · last · nail · rush · stick · net · wound · degree

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. net — for catching
  11. last — final
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. net — after costs
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. net — in sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. last — finally
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. last — to go on
  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