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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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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: wind · mine · craft · spell · degree · bear · saw · ruler

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. spell — magic
  5. degree — temperature
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bear — the animal
  10. spell — letters
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. craft — a skill
  13. degree — from a university
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. craft — boats
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spell — a short time
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. saw — the tool

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