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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wound — an injury
  5. face — part of the head
  6. shower — rain
  7. face — to point toward
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. last — finally
  11. rock — a stone
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — from a university
  16. shower — to wash
  17. craft — boats
  18. snap — to click
  19. face — to confront
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. craft — a skill
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. degree — an amount

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