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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. deal — to handle
  4. degree — from a university
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. land — ground
  7. degree — temperature
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. march — the month
  16. bear — the animal
  17. craft — boats
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. craft — a skill

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