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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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 — exactly
  2. tear — from crying
  3. march — the month
  4. current — happening now
  5. march — music
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. court — of a king
  9. bound — certain
  10. current — of water
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bound — obliged
  14. kick — in football
  15. march — the month
  16. current — electric
  17. sharp — clever
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bound — tied together
  23. tear — to rip
  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