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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. firm — decided
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. fork — in a road
  11. degree — from a university
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. ball — a great time
  17. firm — steady
  18. sharp — clever
  19. ball — a dance
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rest — a break
  23. wound — an injury
  24. firm — a company

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