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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. snap — to click
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rest — what's left
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. jam — a tight spot

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