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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. present — the time now
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. degree — temperature
  8. firm — steady
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. kid — child
  11. craft — boats
  12. cell — a phone
  13. firm — a company
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — from a university
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wind — moving air
  24. firm — decided

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