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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — temperature
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. mark — a trace
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mine — for digging
  18. row — a line
  19. sharp — clever
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. mark — a grade
  24. arm — part of the body

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