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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. degree — from a university
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. sharp — clever
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fine — high quality
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. fine — all right
  20. saw — the tool
  21. degree — an amount
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bark — to shout
  24. nail — for a hammer

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