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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kid — child
  6. spell — magic
  7. saw — the tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. craft — a skill
  10. kid — to tease
  11. prune — to trim
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. saw — the tool
  14. degree — from a university
  15. object — an aim
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. craft — boats
  19. object — to protest
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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