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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: degree · content · calf · patient · saw · snap · nail · prune

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. degree — from a university
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. degree — an amount
  5. prune — to trim
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. prune — to trim
  11. content — the amount
  12. snap — to click
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — happy
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. degree — temperature
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. saw — the tool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. saw — the tool
  24. prune — the fruit

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