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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. degree — an amount
  4. drill — the tool
  5. rule — a law
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bulb — for light
  8. drill — army training
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rule — government
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bulb — for light
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cell — a phone
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cell — in biology

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