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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. spell — letters
  3. clip — for paper
  4. spell — magic
  5. craft — boats
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. spell — a short time
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fine — high quality
  11. key — for a lock
  12. race — a contest
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. fine — all right
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. race — the arms race
  18. key — in music
  19. race — humankind
  20. clip — a video
  21. craft — a skill
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. key — the most important part
  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