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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. craft — a skill
  3. degree — temperature
  4. last — final
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. craft — boats
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bat — the animal
  11. last — to go on
  12. dip — to sink
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. last — finally
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. ball — a great time

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