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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 120 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. craft — boats
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. spell — letters
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — magic
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tear — from crying
  19. degree — from a university
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. spell — a short time
  24. craft — a skill

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