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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: shower · hide · degree · racket · stick · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. degree — temperature
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. degree — an amount
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. shower — rain
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. shower — to wash
  16. degree — from a university
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — a skill

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