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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. clip — a video
  8. degree — temperature
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. degree — an amount
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stem — to come from
  20. band — a music group
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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