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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. prune — to trim
  4. sharp — clever
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mate — a friend
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — temperature
  15. staff — employees
  16. mate — to breed
  17. prune — to trim
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. staff — a stick
  20. mate — a partner
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. game — wild animals
  24. staff — employees

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