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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. club — for golf
  6. bank — for money
  7. degree — from a university
  8. craft — boats
  9. stock — goods
  10. face — to confront
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stock — shares
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. craft — a skill
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the sport
  21. file — a document
  22. bank — for money
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bank — of a river

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