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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. can — a tin
  9. row — a line
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. band — a music group
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — to paddle
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. can — a tin
  22. craft — a skill
  23. can — to be able to
  24. date — the fruit

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