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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. degree — temperature
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pitch — completely
  5. degree — an amount
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. season — of the year
  8. drill — army training
  9. root — the cause
  10. degree — from a university
  11. object — to protest
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cell — in biology
  14. object — an aim
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. object — a thing
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cell — a phone
  23. root — of a word
  24. season — in sport

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