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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 120 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 · kick · band · sharp · saw · deal · mine · fan

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. degree — from a university
  5. deal — to handle
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kick — in football
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. degree — temperature
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. deal — an agreement

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