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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. degree — temperature
  3. craft — a skill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fine — all right
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. kid — to tease
  10. staff — employees
  11. kid — child
  12. sharp — clever
  13. staff — employees
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. degree — an amount
  16. staff — a stick
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. 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