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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: spell · nail · wound · pound · wind · degree · fine · content

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — a short time
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — happy
  12. wind — moving air
  13. degree — an amount
  14. spell — letters
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. content — the amount
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. degree — from a university
  22. fine — all right
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wind — moving air

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