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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. spell — letters
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. deal — to handle
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. firm — decided
  7. race — a contest
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — an amount
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. degree — temperature
  12. content — happy
  13. firm — steady
  14. content — the amount
  15. firm — a company
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. race — humankind
  20. degree — from a university
  21. race — the arms race
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — a short time
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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