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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. degree — from a university
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. degree — an amount
  6. toast — bread
  7. saw — the tool
  8. kid — child
  9. craft — boats
  10. kid — to tease
  11. season — of the year
  12. scale — size or range
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. saw — the tool
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. scale — in music
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. degree — temperature
  22. craft — a skill
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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