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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. degree — temperature
  5. craft — boats
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rush — hurry
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. kid — child
  13. lean — to bend
  14. can — a tin
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. capital — money
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. degree — an amount
  24. capital — a city

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