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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. snap — to click
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. object — to protest
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. spring — of water
  7. object — an aim
  8. craft — a skill
  9. object — a thing
  10. spring — the season
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. field — a subject
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. field — farmland
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spring — a coil
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. degree — temperature
  22. field — for sport
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. craft — boats

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