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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · bear · bat · wind · degree · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bear — the animal
  8. craft — boats
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bat — the animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. degree — temperature
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom

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