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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: safe · degree · tear · chip · bat · craft

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — temperature
  5. chip — to eat
  6. craft — a skill
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — the animal
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. craft — boats
  15. degree — from a university
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. craft — a handicraft

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