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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. degree — an amount
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. degree — from a university
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. pop — to visit
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bound — certain
  12. pop — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. lie — to recline
  15. craft — boats
  16. bound — tied together
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pop — soda
  24. bound — obliged

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