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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: clip · saw · nail · bowl · ball · degree · capital · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. saw — the tool
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. ball — a dance
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. saw — the tool
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. capital — a city
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. clip — a video
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. capital — money
  22. degree — temperature
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bowl — a dish

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