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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 120 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: bowl · degree · bay · sharp · pit · deal · chest · rush

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. pit — a hole
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chest — of your body
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rush — hurry
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. chest — a box
  19. degree — from a university
  20. deal — to handle
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. sharp — clever
  24. pit — in a race

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