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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  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. dip — a sauce
  2. craft — a skill
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. dip — to sink
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. degree — temperature
  12. row — to paddle
  13. craft — boats
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. stand — to bear
  17. degree — from a university
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. kick — in football
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. saw — the tool
  23. dip — to dunk
  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