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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · fork · bound · sharp · cold · swing

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. swing — to play on
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bound — certain
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. degree — from a university
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cold — not warm
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cold — an illness
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bound — tied together
  17. swing — music
  18. sharp — exactly

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