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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. mouse — the animal
  3. capital — money
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. band — a music group
  6. wound — an injury
  7. firm — steady
  8. drill — the tool
  9. capital — a city
  10. drill — a practice
  11. degree — from a university
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. drill — army training
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. band — a ring
  20. wound — an injury
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — decided
  23. degree — an amount
  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