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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cap — of ice
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. march — the month
  10. rest — a break
  11. march — the month
  12. bat — the animal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rash — a series
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. sharp — clever
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cap — a hat
  21. march — music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cap — a lid
  24. deal — to handle

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