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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. degree — from a university
  3. last — finally
  4. sharp — clever
  5. content — happy
  6. net — after costs
  7. fall — to drop
  8. last — to go on
  9. board — to get on
  10. net — in sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. last — final
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. board — a committee
  15. degree — an amount
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fall — to drop
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. content — the amount
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. net — for catching
  23. degree — temperature
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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