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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. craft — a skill
  7. deal — to handle
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. capital — a city
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. sharp — clever
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. cell — a phone
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. degree — temperature
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. craft — boats
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. snap — to click
  24. nail — for a hammer

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