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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. shower — to wash
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. degree — from a university
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. snap — to click
  8. field — farmland
  9. degree — temperature
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — soda
  18. shower — rain
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. roll — a cake
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. roll — a list
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. degree — an amount

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