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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bound — certain
  3. last — finally
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bound — tied together
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. lean — thin
  11. rest — a break
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. lean — to bend
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. last — final
  18. rest — what's left
  19. last — to go on
  20. bound — obliged
  21. march — the month
  22. rest — what's left
  23. march — music
  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