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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. tear — to rip
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. degree — temperature
  8. sharp — clever
  9. tear — from crying
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wake — a trail
  13. degree — an amount
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. stem — to come from
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bat — the animal

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