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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bound — certain
  4. rock — a stone
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. craft — boats
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. kid — to tease
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — music
  22. kid — child
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. march — the month

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