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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. drill — army training
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cap — a lid
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. row — a line
  10. present — a gift
  11. degree — from a university
  12. present — the time now
  13. chip — to eat
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. chip — for betting
  17. row — to paddle
  18. degree — an amount
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. degree — temperature
  21. craft — boats
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. present — there

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