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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. net — after costs
  6. can — to be able to
  7. craft — a skill
  8. degree — an amount
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. cold — not warm
  11. can — a tin
  12. net — for catching
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. degree — temperature
  17. net — in sport
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. degree — from a university
  21. craft — boats
  22. row — a line
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. branch — of a bank

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