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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. degree — temperature
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fork — in a road
  12. clip — to cut
  13. craft — a skill
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. degree — an amount
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. chair — a leader
  23. clip — for paper
  24. chair — a professorship

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