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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. sharp — clever
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — from a university
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. foot — a measure
  12. suit — to fit
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wound — an injury
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. tube — a container
  17. suit — clothes
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. fan — to cool the air

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