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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wound — an injury
  6. degree — from a university
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. staff — employees
  12. field — a subject
  13. staff — employees
  14. field — for sport
  15. degree — temperature
  16. field — farmland
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — an amount
  24. sharp — exactly

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