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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. file — a tool
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. hand — help
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bank — for money
  8. perch — the fish
  9. saw — the tool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. file — a document
  14. craft — a skill
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — of a river
  21. hand — in cards
  22. craft — boats
  23. degree — an amount
  24. hand — part of the body

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