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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: craft · nail · degree · sharp · fork · pitcher · kick · chest

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. craft — boats
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kick — in football
  13. degree — an amount
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fork — in a road
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. sharp — clever
  24. chest — a box

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