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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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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: wave · rest · craft · object · kid · degree · arm · bowl

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kid — child
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. object — a thing
  6. degree — an amount
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. kid — to tease
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. object — an aim
  19. craft — boats
  20. object — to protest
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rest — what's left
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bowl — to roll

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