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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pass — a permit
  7. club — for golf
  8. dip — to sink
  9. club — a group
  10. track — a song
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. track — to keep track
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bound — certain
  15. cell — a phone
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bound — obliged
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bound — tied together
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. degree — temperature
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. degree — an amount

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