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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: bat · sharp · clip · pop · drill · degree · fan · fine

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. drill — army training
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. drill — a practice
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fine — high quality
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pop — music
  15. fine — all right
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pop — soda
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — a video
  22. pop — to visit
  23. clip — for paper
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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