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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 · degree · sharp · net · kid · nail · straw · last

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. sharp — clever
  5. net — for catching
  6. degree — an amount
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. last — finally
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. last — final
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. last — to go on
  24. degree — temperature

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