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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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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: straw · staff · degree · saw · toast · drill · race · nail

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. race — humankind
  5. degree — temperature
  6. race — a contest
  7. degree — from a university
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. drill — the tool
  12. race — the arms race
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. degree — an amount
  15. staff — employees
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. staff — a stick
  19. saw — the tool
  20. staff — employees
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. saw — the tool
  24. straw — a straw man

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