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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: tear · sharp · key · degree · content · patient · lash · prune

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. key — the most important part
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — the amount
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. degree — an amount
  12. sharp — clever
  13. tear — from crying
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. key — for a lock
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — to rip
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. key — in music
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. sharp — exactly

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