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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: bear · board · kid · degree · squash · tear · craft · rest

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bear — the animal
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. tear — from crying
  7. board — to get on
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. rest — what's left
  10. craft — boats
  11. degree — an amount
  12. squash — the sport
  13. degree — temperature
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rest — what's left
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bear — the animal
  18. board — a committee
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. rest — a break
  24. squash — to crush

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