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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 knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bass — the fish
  5. ground — the earth
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. present — there
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fork — in a road
  13. present — the time now
  14. ground — a position
  15. present — a gift
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bass — low music
  19. ground — crushed
  20. degree — an amount
  21. saw — the tool
  22. dip — to sink
  23. degree — temperature
  24. dip — a sauce

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