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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. capital — money
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. degree — an amount
  9. net — for catching
  10. fall — the season
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fall — to drop
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. net — after costs
  15. capital — a city
  16. drill — the tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fall — to drop
  19. drill — army training
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. drill — a practice
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. net — in sport

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