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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 124 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. race — humankind
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — a city
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. race — a contest
  19. capital — money
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bark — to shout
  22. hand — help
  23. bear — the animal
  24. capital — a big letter

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