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

Word bank: degree · pound · safe · last · craft · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. craft — a skill
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. pound — a weight
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. kid — to tease
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. degree — temperature
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. last — to go on
  15. craft — boats
  16. last — finally
  17. degree — from a university
  18. last — final

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