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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — to protest
  4. degree — from a university
  5. last — final
  6. season — of the year
  7. pop — soda
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. last — to go on
  16. degree — temperature
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. degree — an amount
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. last — finally
  21. pop — music
  22. object — an aim
  23. season — in sport
  24. hide — to keep secret

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