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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. rock — music
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. drill — the tool
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rock — a stone
  11. degree — from a university
  12. court — of law
  13. degree — temperature
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. drill — army training
  17. foot — a measure
  18. craft — boats
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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