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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 116 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. bark — to shout
  3. degree — temperature
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. content — the amount
  9. race — a contest
  10. wound — an injury
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. craft — boats
  13. race — humankind
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. shower — to wash
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. content — happy
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. shower — rain
  21. craft — a skill
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — an amount

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