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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. degree — from a university
  8. field — farmland
  9. bulb — for light
  10. field — a subject
  11. net — after costs
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. field — for sport
  16. kick — in football
  17. bulb — for light
  18. net — in sport
  19. rock — a stone
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. net — for catching
  24. craft — a skill

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