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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mug — a face
  3. bound — tied together
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. spring — of water
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. mug — a cup
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stand — to bear
  13. craft — a skill
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. spring — the season
  18. bound — certain
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mug — to rob
  22. bound — obliged
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spring — a coil

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