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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: degree · nail · rock · last · ground · spring · clip · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spring — the season
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — to go on
  6. spring — of water
  7. clip — to cut
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rock — music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rock — a stone
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. last — finally
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. clip — a video
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. degree — an amount
  18. ground — a position
  19. spring — a coil
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — final
  23. net — for catching
  24. ground — the earth

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