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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. saw — the tool
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a cake
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. craft — boats
  9. hand — in cards
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. degree — an amount
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. dip — to sink
  15. squash — the sport
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hand — help
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. deal — to handle
  20. squash — to crush
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. roll — a list
  24. craft — a skill

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