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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. lean — to bend
  8. degree — an amount
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rash — hasty
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. present — the time now
  17. lean — thin
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. present — a gift
  21. bat — the animal
  22. present — there
  23. rash — a series
  24. calf — of the leg

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