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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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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. field — a subject
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rash — a series
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. degree — temperature
  9. tear — to rip
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. degree — from a university
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. sharp — clever
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rash — hasty
  17. degree — an amount
  18. field — farmland
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. field — for sport

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