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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. field — for sport
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. degree — temperature
  9. craft — boats
  10. bass — low music
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. mate — a friend
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wake — a trail
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pass — a permit
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. mate — to breed
  24. degree — from a university

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