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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. last — to go on
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. craft — boats
  6. club — a group
  7. staff — employees
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — finally
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. shower — to wash
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. club — for golf
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. shower — rain
  21. last — final
  22. track — to keep track
  23. craft — a skill
  24. degree — an amount

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