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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 · content · pass · degree · wound · staff · rest · ball

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wound — an injury
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. content — happy
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. rest — a break
  9. staff — employees
  10. content — the amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ball — a great time
  14. staff — employees
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pass — a permit
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. staff — a stick

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