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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 120 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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. suit — to fit
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. hand — help
  12. sharp — clever
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. suit — in cards
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. degree — an amount
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. pound — a weight
  24. sharp — exactly

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