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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bank — for money
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bank — for money
  6. stem — to come from
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. scale — in music
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bank — of a river
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. scale — size or range
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. capital — a city
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. kick — in football
  21. degree — an amount
  22. capital — money
  23. bear — the animal
  24. scale — for weighing

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