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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: clip · nail · trunk · saw · toast · game · degree · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. ball — a dance
  2. game — a match
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. clip — for paper
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — wild animals
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. saw — the tool
  9. clip — a video
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. degree — an amount
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. toast — bread
  19. saw — the tool
  20. ball — a great time
  21. clip — to cut
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. degree — from a university
  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