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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mark — a grade
  5. sharp — clever
  6. land — ground
  7. clip — for paper
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. degree — from a university
  13. land — a country
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mark — a trace
  21. land — to come down
  22. clip — to cut
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. mark — to pay attention

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