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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: ball · saw · cell · rush · degree · sharp · calf · nail

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. rush — hurry
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. degree — an amount
  9. saw — the tool
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. degree — from a university
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. degree — temperature
  20. sharp — clever
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cell — in biology
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. ball — a dance

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