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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. track — to keep track
  5. firm — steady
  6. track — a song
  7. kick — in football
  8. firm — decided
  9. cell — a phone
  10. degree — from a university
  11. craft — a skill
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. craft — boats
  14. firm — a company
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. deal — to handle
  21. degree — temperature
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cell — in biology
  24. track — a path

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