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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 116 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. track — a path
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. track — to keep track
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. row — a line
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. club — a group
  13. last — final
  14. club — for dancing
  15. track — a song
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. last — to go on
  20. club — for golf
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. last — finally
  24. degree — temperature

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