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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bat — the animal
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. degree — from a university
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. degree — an amount
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. craft — a skill
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rash — a series
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. ruler — for measuring

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