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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. degree — an amount
  3. craft — a skill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. degree — temperature
  7. craft — boats
  8. mate — a partner
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. object — to protest
  12. rest — what's left
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. object — a thing
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mate — to breed
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. row — a line
  20. rest — a break
  21. object — an aim
  22. row — to paddle
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mate — a friend

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