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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — an amount
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. branch — a division
  6. sharp — clever
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. mate — to breed
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. tear — from crying
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. mate — a partner
  16. degree — temperature
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. rush — hurry
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. coach — a trainer

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