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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. degree — an amount
  3. charge — electricity
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. charge — in control
  12. mark — a grade
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rash — a series
  16. snap — to click
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. band — a music group
  21. branch — a division
  22. band — a ring
  23. charge — a price
  24. degree — temperature

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