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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: bear · craft · prune · bay · clip · roll · degree · scale

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. roll — a cake
  5. degree — from a university
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. roll — a list
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. degree — temperature
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. scale — size or range
  17. clip — a video
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. scale — in music
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. clip — to cut

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