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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 120 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. bark — to shout
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ball — a great time
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. craft — boats
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bound — certain
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — happy
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bound — obliged
  19. degree — an amount
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ball — a dance
  22. content — the amount
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. straw — dry grass

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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