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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. degree — an amount
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. craft — a skill
  9. hand — in cards
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bore — to drill
  18. craft — boats
  19. kick — in football
  20. game — wild animals
  21. hand — help
  22. foot — a measure
  23. game — a match
  24. hand — part of the body

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