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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 · degree · craft · field · fork · wave

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. field — for sport
  5. craft — boats
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fork — in a road
  10. field — a subject
  11. degree — from a university
  12. field — farmland
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. shower — rain
  16. craft — a skill
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fork — to eat with

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