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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. object — to protest
  3. content — the amount
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. object — a thing
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. kid — child
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. object — an aim
  24. sharp — clever

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