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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. capital — a city
  4. craft — boats
  5. court — of a king
  6. dip — to sink
  7. degree — temperature
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. degree — an amount
  11. game — wild animals
  12. kick — in football
  13. court — of law
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. court — for sport
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. capital — money
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. game — a match
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. degree — from a university
  24. game — a kind of play

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