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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — clever
  5. degree — from a university
  6. staff — employees
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wax — to grow
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wound — an injury
  13. degree — temperature
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. pop — soda
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. staff — a stick
  18. roll — a cake
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pop — music
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. staff — employees
  24. roll — a list

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