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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.

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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: sharp · fork · swing · clip · saw · degree · mate · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. degree — from a university
  5. saw — the tool
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. swing — music
  9. mate — to breed
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mate — a friend
  12. degree — an amount
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mate — a partner
  15. swing — to play on
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fork — in a road
  22. degree — temperature
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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