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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: hand · pop · net · nail · spell · leaves · rush · degree

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. pop — soda
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pop — music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. spell — a short time
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. net — after costs
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pop — to visit
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. net — for catching
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. spell — magic
  16. net — in sport
  17. degree — temperature
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. hand — help
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. spell — letters
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. leaves — to go away

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