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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: pitcher · row · content · nail · mug · hand · rest · degree

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mug — a face
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. row — a line
  9. mug — a cup
  10. rest — what's left
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rest — what's left
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mug — to rob
  19. rest — a break
  20. hand — in cards
  21. degree — from a university
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. row — a quarrel

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