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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: sharp · face · drill · clip · trunk · net · degree · fork

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. clip — to cut
  3. drill — the tool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. face — part of the head
  7. fork — in a road
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. face — to confront
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. drill — a practice
  13. degree — an amount
  14. drill — army training
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. face — to point toward
  17. net — in sport
  18. clip — for paper
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. clip — a video
  24. net — after costs

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