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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. court — for sport
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bank — for money
  6. spell — a short time
  7. degree — an amount
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. degree — temperature
  13. court — of a king
  14. drill — the tool
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. court — of law
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. sharp — clever
  22. spell — letters
  23. drill — army training
  24. spell — magic

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