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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: straw · court · craft · dip · chip · degree · calf · wind

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. court — of a king
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of law
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. court — for sport
  16. chip — to eat
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chip — for betting
  19. wind — moving air
  20. dip — to sink
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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