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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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468
Word bank
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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 knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. capital — a city
  10. cell — in biology
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fork — in a road
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. sharp — clever
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cell — a phone
  23. capital — money
  24. degree — from a university

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