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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. degree — from a university
  4. scale — in music
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. row — a line
  8. band — a music group
  9. sharp — clever
  10. degree — temperature
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — an amount
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. sharp — exactly

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