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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fall — the season
  5. saw — the tool
  6. band — a music group
  7. file — a tool
  8. pop — music
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pop — soda
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — from a university
  15. file — a document
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. craft — a skill
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fall — to drop
  24. craft — boats

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