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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. degree — from a university
  3. file — a line of people
  4. object — an aim
  5. craft — boats
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — an amount
  8. squash — the sport
  9. scale — in music
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. object — a thing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. file — a tool
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. squash — to crush
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. chip — to eat
  21. file — a document
  22. degree — temperature
  23. object — to protest
  24. craft — a handicraft

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