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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — a skill
  3. swing — to play on
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. drill — the tool
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. kid — to tease
  10. swing — music
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. drill — army training
  14. degree — an amount
  15. drill — a practice
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. kid — child
  19. swing — in golf
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. craft — boats
  24. snap — to click

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