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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. net — for catching
  4. bank — for money
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ground — the earth
  8. band — a music group
  9. net — after costs
  10. sharp — clever
  11. degree — from a university
  12. band — a ring
  13. bank — for money
  14. ground — a position
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tube — a container
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tube — the underground
  20. degree — an amount
  21. net — in sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bank — of a river
  24. ground — crushed

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