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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. pit — in a race
  5. ground — crushed
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. branch — a division
  11. degree — an amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. degree — temperature
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. content — the amount
  20. lean — to bend
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. content — happy
  23. lean — thin
  24. pit — a hole

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