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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bay · clip · object · tear · degree · craft · last · bass

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. 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. craft — a handicraft
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. tear — to rip
  6. last — finally
  7. object — an aim
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bass — low music
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bass — the fish
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. craft — boats
  23. clip — a video
  24. 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