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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. foot — a measure
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. degree — from a university
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. current — electric
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bulb — for light
  18. degree — temperature
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. chest — a box
  23. cell — a phone
  24. degree — an amount

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