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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. spell — magic
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. degree — from a university
  6. net — in sport
  7. land — to come down
  8. degree — an amount
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rash — hasty
  13. clip — a video
  14. rash — a series
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — a country
  17. clip — to cut
  18. craft — boats
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. degree — temperature
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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