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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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 — a skill
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mark — a grade
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. craft — boats
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pound — a weight
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wound — an injury
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. wound — an injury
  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