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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. craft — boats
  2. track — a song
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. rock — music
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. track — a path
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. craft — a skill
  15. file — a tool
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rock — a stone
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. file — a document
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bat — the animal
  23. file — a line of people
  24. degree — from a university

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