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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.

Make a worksheet

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: tube · chair · safe · march · degree · spring · plane · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. chair — a leader
  4. march — the month
  5. tube — a container
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. spring — a coil
  15. craft — a skill
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. degree — an amount
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. degree — temperature
  20. march — music
  21. plane — a tool
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. safe — out of danger

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