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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. craft — boats
  4. band — a music group
  5. degree — from a university
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. perch — the fish
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. march — the month
  10. net — in sport
  11. march — music
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. march — the month
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. band — a ring
  17. craft — a skill
  18. degree — an amount
  19. net — after costs
  20. kick — in football
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. net — for catching
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. perch — for a bird

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