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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mine — for digging
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. degree — from a university
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. kick — in football
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mate — a friend
  9. craft — a skill
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bound — certain
  15. vault — a safe
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. branch — a division
  22. bound — obliged
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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