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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. track — to keep track
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. land — ground
  5. craft — boats
  6. tear — to rip
  7. degree — temperature
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. spring — of water
  10. land — a country
  11. board — to get on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. degree — an amount
  14. track — a song
  15. net — after costs
  16. tear — from crying
  17. craft — a skill
  18. land — to come down
  19. degree — from a university
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. net — in sport
  23. board — a committee
  24. track — a path

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