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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. field — farmland
  4. rock — a stone
  5. cue — a hint
  6. degree — from a university
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. field — a subject
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bark — to shout
  11. field — for sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. mate — a friend
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cue — for pool
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — to breed
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rock — music
  24. drill — the tool

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