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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. current — electric
  5. craft — boats
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. current — of water
  9. mug — a face
  10. mug — to rob
  11. rule — a law
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. current — happening now
  15. craft — a skill
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rule — government
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mug — a cup
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. degree — temperature
  24. prune — to trim

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