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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. degree — temperature
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. sharp — clever
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. present — there
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — the time now
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. degree — an amount
  24. sharp — with an edge

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