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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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 — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. degree — from a university
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. degree — temperature
  18. content — happy
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. lie — an untruth
  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