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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. craft — a skill
  4. lean — thin
  5. craft — boats
  6. mug — a cup
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — to rob
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. degree — temperature
  15. field — a subject
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. field — for sport
  18. cell — a phone
  19. field — farmland
  20. saw — the tool
  21. degree — from a university
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cabinet — ministers

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