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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 116 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. present — a gift
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. field — for sport
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. kick — in football
  9. degree — from a university
  10. field — a subject
  11. saw — the tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. field — farmland
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. present — the time now
  16. craft — boats
  17. bark — to shout
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. craft — a skill
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. present — there
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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