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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. land — ground
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — a country
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. cell — a phone
  12. root — the cause
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. degree — temperature
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — to handle
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. land — to come down

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