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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mark — a grade
  5. club — for golf
  6. craft — boats
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. tear — from crying
  11. degree — temperature
  12. tear — from crying
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bear — the animal
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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