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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. degree — an amount
  3. season — of the year
  4. degree — from a university
  5. file — a document
  6. sharp — clever
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. season — in sport
  13. foot — a measure
  14. fork — in a road
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fork — to eat with

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