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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. craft — boats
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pitch — completely
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. season — in sport
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spell — letters
  20. pit — in a race
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spell — magic
  23. season — of the year
  24. fan — to cool the air

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