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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. roll — a cake
  3. degree — from a university
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. degree — an amount
  8. tear — to rip
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. net — after costs
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — in sport
  16. roll — a list
  17. net — for catching
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. craft — boats
  23. degree — temperature
  24. craft — a skill

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