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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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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: chest · degree · bowl · pitcher · net · craft · pass · foot

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. craft — a skill
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. net — for catching
  12. chest — of your body
  13. net — in sport
  14. chest — a box
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. foot — a measure
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. degree — temperature
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. net — after costs
  21. degree — from a university
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. pass — a permit
  24. foot — the bottom

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