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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mate — a friend
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. degree — temperature
  8. game — a match
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mate — a partner
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. charge — a price
  13. degree — an amount
  14. charge — electricity
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. hand — in cards
  17. charge — in control
  18. degree — from a university
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. hand — help
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. mate — to breed

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