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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bass — low music
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. degree — an amount
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. spell — magic
  7. craft — boats
  8. bass — the fish
  9. spell — a short time
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — from crying
  12. face — to confront
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. degree — from a university
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. face — to point toward
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. face — part of the head
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. spell — letters

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