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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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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: kid · staff · straw · nail · track · lie · pound · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. track — to keep track
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. track — a path
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. staff — employees
  9. pound — a weight
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. track — a song
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. lie — to recline
  19. degree — an amount
  20. staff — a stick
  21. kid — child
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. staff — employees
  24. straw — dry grass

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