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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: bear · roll · field · band · snap · saw · nail · degree

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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. nail — on a finger
  2. degree — from a university
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bear — the animal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. snap — to click
  9. saw — the tool
  10. band — a music group
  11. field — a subject
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. field — for sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. degree — an amount
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — a list
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. field — farmland
  20. band — a ring
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bear — the animal
  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