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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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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. craft — boats
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rush — hurry
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. craft — a skill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — to eat
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. wind — to turn a key

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