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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. ground — a position
  3. degree — temperature
  4. present — the time now
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. degree — an amount
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tube — a container
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. sharp — clever
  18. tube — the underground
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ground — the earth
  21. present — a gift
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. present — there
  24. safe — a strongbox

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