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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. last — finally
  3. shower — to wash
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. last — final
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mate — a partner
  11. game — a match
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bear — the animal
  14. last — to go on
  15. mate — to breed
  16. game — wild animals
  17. craft — boats
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bear — the animal
  22. shower — rain
  23. craft — a skill
  24. degree — an amount

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