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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — from a university
  4. race — the arms race
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. swing — in golf
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. current — happening now
  11. swing — to play on
  12. race — a contest
  13. sharp — clever
  14. race — humankind
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fork — in a road
  18. current — electric
  19. roll — a list
  20. degree — an amount
  21. roll — a cake
  22. current — of water
  23. degree — temperature
  24. swing — music

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