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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 · cell · degree · club · face · ball

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. club — for dancing
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cell — a phone
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cell — in biology
  7. club — for golf
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. craft — boats
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. club — a group
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. face — to confront
  16. ball — a dance
  17. degree — an amount
  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