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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 116 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: chip · saw · sharp · hide · degree · tube · wake · tear

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. degree — an amount
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — a container
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. saw — the tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chip — to eat
  22. saw — the tool
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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