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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 knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. spring — the season
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. spring — a coil
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — decided
  8. chair — a leader
  9. shower — rain
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. sharp — clever
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. firm — a company
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spring — of water
  21. shower — to wash
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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