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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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 — a skill
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. craft — boats
  8. toast — bread
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. degree — an amount
  12. net — after costs
  13. object — an aim
  14. press — a publisher
  15. tear — from crying
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cold — not warm
  18. object — a thing
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. degree — from a university
  21. press — to push
  22. object — to protest
  23. press — newspapers
  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