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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. board — to get on
  3. craft — a skill
  4. plane — a tool
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. shower — rain
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. degree — an amount
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cell — in biology
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. board — a committee
  18. bark — to shout
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cell — a phone
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. shower — to wash

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