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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — boats
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. scale — in music
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. craft — a skill
  17. degree — an amount
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. scale — size or range
  21. race — humankind
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. degree — temperature

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