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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. row — to paddle
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. tear — to rip
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — a skill
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. degree — temperature
  13. row — a line
  14. deal — to handle
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — an amount
  17. craft — boats
  18. degree — from a university

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