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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. game — a match
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. spring — a coil
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bear — the animal
  9. craft — a skill
  10. deal — to handle
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spring — the season
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. spring — of water
  24. degree — temperature

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