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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — an amount
  5. race — the arms race
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. sharp — clever
  8. degree — from a university
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. craft — a skill
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. race — humankind
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. hand — help
  17. race — a contest
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. craft — boats
  22. degree — temperature
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mouse — the 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