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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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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: degree · nail · sharp · ground · foot · wax · content · row

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ground — crushed
  3. degree — temperature
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. foot — a measure
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. sharp — clever
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. ground — a position
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. content — the amount
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. row — to paddle
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. content — happy

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