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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. drill — army training
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. season — of the year
  7. degree — from a university
  8. season — in sport
  9. drill — a practice
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. charge — in control
  12. sharp — clever
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. charge — electricity
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. file — a document
  19. degree — an amount
  20. drill — the tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. charge — a price
  24. degree — temperature

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