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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pass — a permit
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. shower — rain
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. craft — a skill
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. degree — an amount
  24. arm — a part of something

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