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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. last — to go on
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wind — moving air
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — of a plant
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. last — finally
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. last — final
  19. root — the cause
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. wind — moving air

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