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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. spring — the season
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. charge — a price
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — of water
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bound — tied together
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bound — obliged
  15. charge — electricity
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wind — moving air
  18. sharp — clever
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bound — certain
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. charge — in control
  24. calf — a young animal

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