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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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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: nail · degree · straw · bat · court · bore · root · sharp

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. root — of a word
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. degree — an amount
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. root — of a plant
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. court — for sport
  20. root — the cause
  21. bat — the animal
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. bore — to drill

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