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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. staff — employees
  3. craft — a skill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. staff — employees
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. shower — rain
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bass — the fish
  18. snap — to click
  19. staff — a stick
  20. bass — low music
  21. bore — to drill
  22. craft — boats
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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