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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. clip — for paper
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. craft — a skill
  8. drill — a practice
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. track — to keep track
  18. craft — boats
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fan — a supporter

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