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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: bass · nail · march · saw · perch · rule · degree · mate

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. perch — the fish
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bass — low music
  5. rule — a law
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mate — a friend
  9. saw — the tool
  10. march — the month
  11. rule — government
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. degree — an amount
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. march — the month
  16. mate — to breed
  17. degree — temperature
  18. march — music
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. perch — for a bird

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