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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. craft — a skill
  3. degree — from a university
  4. scale — size or range
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. mate — to breed
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. craft — boats
  11. degree — an amount
  12. spring — of water
  13. mate — a partner
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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