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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. sharp — with an edge
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. swing — music
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — all right
  8. suit — clothes
  9. cold — not warm
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. saw — the tool
  13. field — farmland
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. suit — in cards
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cold — an illness
  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