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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. march — the month
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. last — finally
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. board — a committee
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. last — to go on
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. march — music
  18. craft — boats
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. craft — a skill
  21. board — to get on
  22. degree — temperature
  23. march — the month
  24. last — final

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