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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.

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: bat · degree · march · kid · stand · lean · sharp · date

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. degree — an amount
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — the animal
  11. sharp — clever
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. march — the month
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — to tease
  18. degree — temperature
  19. march — music
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. march — the month
  22. lean — to bend
  23. stand — to bear
  24. lean — thin

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