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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cold — not warm
  3. craft — a skill
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — a position
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mark — a trace
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. craft — boats
  15. ground — the earth
  16. tear — from crying
  17. scale — in music
  18. degree — from a university
  19. lean — thin
  20. ground — crushed
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mark — a grade
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lean — to bend

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