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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in biology
  4. craft — boats
  5. tube — a container
  6. bound — obliged
  7. track — a song
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wound — an injury
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. track — to keep track
  12. tube — the underground
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. degree — temperature
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bound — certain
  21. craft — a skill
  22. track — a path
  23. bound — tied together
  24. date — the fruit

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