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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. craft — boats
  3. sharp — clever
  4. degree — temperature
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. mug — to rob
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pop — music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. mug — a face
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bat — the animal
  18. craft — a skill
  19. mug — a cup
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pop — soda
  24. degree — from a university

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