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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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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. craft — boats
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. craft — a skill
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — in music
  10. cap — of ice
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hand — help
  14. cap — a lid
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. hand — in cards
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bulb — of a plant

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