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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: saw · fork · march · content · game · bound · nail · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. march — music
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. content — the amount
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. content — happy
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. degree — an amount
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. march — the month
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. game — a match
  21. saw — the tool
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bound — certain

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