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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. deal — to handle
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. band — a music group
  10. degree — temperature
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. last — final
  14. band — a ring
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. sharp — clever
  17. game — a match
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. last — finally
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. last — to go on
  24. calf — a young animal

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