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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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. file — a line of people
  3. sharp — clever
  4. tear — from crying
  5. file — a document
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pop — soda
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. key — in music
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pop — music
  15. file — a tool
  16. key — the most important part
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pop — to visit
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cabinet — ministers

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