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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 116 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. degree — from a university
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. present — the time now
  5. craft — boats
  6. drill — army training
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. present — there
  9. court — for sport
  10. degree — an amount
  11. craft — a skill
  12. drill — the tool
  13. can — to be able to
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. can — a tin
  17. present — a gift
  18. can — a tin
  19. court — of law
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. court — of a king
  22. drill — a practice
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mine — for digging

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