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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. craft — boats
  5. club — for golf
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lie — to recline
  8. bat — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — steady
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. firm — decided
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. club — for dancing
  17. file — a document
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. file — a line of people
  20. craft — a skill
  21. file — a tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. club — a group

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