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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: craft · shower · mate · racket · kick · hand · rest · degree

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — from a university
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — temperature
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. hand — help
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. shower — rain
  10. craft — boats
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. degree — an amount
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — a partner
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rest — a break
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mate — to breed

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