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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. kid — to tease
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spell — a short time
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cue — a signal
  6. kid — child
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. spell — magic
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cue — a hint
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cue — for pool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. craft — boats
  20. degree — an amount
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spell — letters
  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