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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 116 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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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. tube — in a tire
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. club — for golf
  9. file — a tool
  10. fine — high quality
  11. tube — a container
  12. degree — temperature
  13. craft — boats
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. file — a line of people
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fine — all right
  18. cell — a phone
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. file — a document
  22. march — music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cell — in biology

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