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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — clever
  3. lean — thin
  4. tear — from crying
  5. drill — a practice
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. foot — a measure
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. drill — army training
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. lean — to bend
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. degree — from a university
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. degree — temperature
  22. tear — to rip
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. tear — from crying

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