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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. vault — a safe
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. degree — from a university
  7. kid — child
  8. bass — low music
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. hand — in cards
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. degree — an amount
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bass — the fish
  24. hand — help

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