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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. club — for golf
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. club — for dancing
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rest — what's left
  12. key — for a lock
  13. sharp — clever
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. degree — temperature
  17. club — a group
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. branch — a division
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wound — an injury
  22. key — in music
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wound — an injury

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