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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. root — of a plant
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. stand — to bear
  7. degree — from a university
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mate — a friend
  10. degree — an amount
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. root — the cause
  13. drill — a practice
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. sharp — clever
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. hand — in cards
  18. degree — temperature
  19. root — of a word
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. mate — a partner
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mate — to breed
  24. stand — on your feet

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