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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. clip — a video
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. craft — boats
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. degree — an amount
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. degree — temperature
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. branch — a division
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kid — child
  23. degree — from a university
  24. clip — for paper

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