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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — to come down
  3. craft — boats
  4. bat — the animal
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. craft — a skill
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rest — a break
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stem — to come from
  17. land — a country
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. degree — temperature
  22. land — ground
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. stem — 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