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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fine · chair · march · degree · key · sharp · chest · club

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. key — the most important part
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — a box
  8. sharp — clever
  9. fine — all right
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. club — for dancing
  12. chest — of your body
  13. march — the month
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. march — the month
  17. fine — high quality
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. march — music
  20. club — a group
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. club — for golf

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