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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rule — a law
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mate — a partner
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. degree — an amount
  8. deal — to handle
  9. rule — government
  10. field — a subject
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. pop — to visit
  13. field — farmland
  14. mate — to breed
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. field — for sport
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. degree — from a university
  19. craft — boats
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pop — soda
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. pop — music

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