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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: hide · track · hand · rock · sharp · snap · degree · last

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. track — a song
  3. hand — help
  4. rock — music
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. degree — an amount
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. track — to keep track
  12. snap — to click
  13. degree — temperature
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. last — final
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rock — a stone
  18. degree — from a university
  19. last — to go on
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. last — finally
  22. track — a path
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hide — to keep secret

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