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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. craft — a skill
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bore — to tire
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rash — hasty
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bore — to drill
  17. roll — a list
  18. snap — to click
  19. rash — a series
  20. ground — a position
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. craft — boats
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a cake

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