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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wake — a trail
  5. sharp — clever
  6. degree — from a university
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chip — for betting
  9. season — of the year
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stand — to bear
  16. hand — in cards
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. hand — help
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. chip — to eat
  21. season — in sport
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wound — an injury

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