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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: band · jam · nail · degree · swing · kid · bore · tear

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — to tease
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. bore — to drill
  6. swing — music
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. degree — temperature
  9. tear — from crying
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. kid — child
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bore — to tire
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. degree — an amount
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. swing — in golf
  23. tear — to rip
  24. band — a music group

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