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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mate — a friend
  4. squash — the sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. key — the most important part
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. row — a line
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. degree — temperature
  18. key — in music
  19. degree — from a university
  20. craft — boats
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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