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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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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: sharp · file · season · fan · bore · straw · degree · last

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. file — a tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — an amount
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. file — a document
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — temperature
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. bore — to drill
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bore — to tire
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. last — final
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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