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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. track — to keep track
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mine — for digging
  10. net — in sport
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — temperature
  13. track — a song
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. net — for catching
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. snap — to click
  19. track — a path
  20. craft — boats
  21. wax — to grow
  22. degree — from a university
  23. craft — a skill
  24. net — after costs

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