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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. fork — in a road
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. scale — in music
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. scale — size or range
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bear — the animal
  20. degree — from a university
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. degree — temperature
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bear — to put up with

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