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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. staff — employees
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. kid — child
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. staff — employees
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. track — a song
  12. rest — what's left
  13. staff — a stick
  14. band — a music group
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. foot — a measure
  19. band — a ring
  20. kid — to tease
  21. track — to keep track
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. track — a path

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