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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. ball — a dance
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. net — after costs
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. sharp — clever
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spring — the season
  13. ball — a great time
  14. spring — of water
  15. net — for catching
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. degree — from a university
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. spring — a coil
  22. degree — temperature
  23. net — in sport
  24. wake — a trail

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