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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · staff · craft · degree · sharp · fine · cold · squash

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — to tease
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. craft — boats
  6. staff — employees
  7. squash — to crush
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. squash — the sport
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. craft — a skill
  17. staff — a stick
  18. fine — all right
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cold — not warm
  21. sharp — clever
  22. staff — employees
  23. kid — child
  24. fine — high quality

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