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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: can · degree · last · pitch · sharp · wound · file · fork

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. can — a tin
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. last — to go on
  8. file — a line of people
  9. last — finally
  10. can — a tin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. can — to be able to
  15. sharp — clever
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. file — a tool
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wound — an injury
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. last — final
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. file — a document

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