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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: rest · toast · mark · degree · kick · object · spell · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. degree — temperature
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spell — magic
  7. object — to protest
  8. mark — a grade
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mark — a trace
  11. craft — a skill
  12. rest — a break
  13. spell — letters
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — what's left
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. toast — bread
  21. object — an aim
  22. spell — a short time
  23. object — a thing
  24. kick — in football

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