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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. tube — a container
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. degree — temperature
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. craft — boats
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rule — a law
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rule — government
  15. degree — an amount
  16. perch — the fish
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. degree — from a university
  20. shower — rain
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. shower — to wash
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. racket — a loud noise

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