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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. degree — an amount
  4. kid — child
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. key — for a lock
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. kid — to tease
  9. object — to protest
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. object — a thing
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. key — the most important part
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. key — in music
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. object — an aim
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wind — moving air

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