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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. kid — child
  3. present — there
  4. degree — an amount
  5. craft — boats
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. present — a gift
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. chest — a box
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bass — the fish
  17. craft — a skill
  18. present — the time now
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. foot — a measure
  22. degree — from a university
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. degree — temperature

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