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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 120 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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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: cap · deal · fork · board · calf · degree · kid · nail

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. kid — to tease
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. board — to get on
  9. deal — to handle
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cap — a hat
  15. fork — in a road
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. nail — on a finger

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