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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: deal · court · degree · tear · craft · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. degree — from a university
  3. tear — from crying
  4. court — of a king
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. tear — from crying
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. craft — boats
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. craft — a skill
  13. court — of law
  14. tear — to rip
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. court — for sport
  18. deal — to handle

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