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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 116 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — help
  4. degree — from a university
  5. key — for a lock
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. craft — a skill
  8. hand — in cards
  9. capital — money
  10. degree — an amount
  11. prune — to trim
  12. craft — boats
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. key — the most important part
  18. degree — temperature
  19. capital — a city
  20. dip — to sink
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. key — in music
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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