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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mate — a partner
  13. bark — to shout
  14. degree — from a university
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. game — a match
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mate — a friend
  20. chest — a box
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a tree

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