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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fine — all right
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. fork — in a road
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. degree — temperature
  9. swing — in golf
  10. degree — an amount
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. chest — a box
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. swing — to play on
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. swing — music
  20. sharp — clever
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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