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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. swing — music
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. sharp — clever
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bass — low music
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bass — the fish
  20. foot — a measure
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. degree — from a university
  23. drill — army training
  24. bass — the instrument

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