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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. craft — boats
  8. net — in sport
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. degree — temperature
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. net — for catching
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rush — hurry
  22. net — after costs
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bat — the animal

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