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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. clip — a video
  3. drill — army training
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. saw — the tool
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rock — a stone
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. craft — boats
  11. degree — from a university
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. degree — an amount
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. clip — to cut
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rush — hurry
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rock — music
  24. drill — the tool

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