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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: mine · sharp · bat · ruler · nail · key · degree · pound

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. mine — for digging
  15. sharp — clever
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pound — a weight
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. key — in music
  24. bat — the animal

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