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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. wind — moving air
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stock — goods
  8. bore — to tire
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. capital — a city
  14. stock — shares
  15. rash — hasty
  16. plane — a tool
  17. craft — a skill
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. capital — money
  20. bore — to drill
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. degree — from a university
  23. craft — boats
  24. rash — a series

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