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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: nail · can · wind · content · degree · bay · wake · saw

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. content — the amount
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. saw — the tool
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. degree — from a university
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. content — happy
  16. can — a tin
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. degree — an amount
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. wind — moving air
  23. can — a tin
  24. content — videos and posts

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