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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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. track — a song
  4. degree — from a university
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rock — a stone
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bore — to tire
  10. content — happy
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. track — a path
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rock — music
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kick — in football
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bore — to drill
  23. content — the amount
  24. sharp — with an edge

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