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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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468
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: nail · craft · bore · bass · degree · net · club · kid

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. club — for golf
  5. net — for catching
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — boats
  12. kid — child
  13. club — for dancing
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. degree — temperature
  20. craft — a skill
  21. club — a group
  22. bass — low music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bore — to drill

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