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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 120 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mate — a friend
  4. march — the month
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. mark — a grade
  8. craft — boats
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wax — to grow
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mate — a partner
  16. march — the month
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mark — a trace
  19. chip — for betting
  20. mine — for digging
  21. degree — an amount
  22. march — music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. chip — to eat

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