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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bank — for money
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kid — child
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. saw — the tool
  14. kid — to tease
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bank — for money
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bank — of a river
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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