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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: craft · kid · degree · board · suit · tear

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. degree — from a university
  3. board — to get on
  4. tear — to rip
  5. suit — clothes
  6. suit — in cards
  7. kid — to tease
  8. degree — an amount
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. board — a committee
  13. kid — child
  14. tear — from crying
  15. suit — to fit
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. craft — a skill
  18. degree — temperature

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