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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 116 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: ground · craft · perch · row · degree · court · pit · nail

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. craft — boats
  3. row — a line
  4. ground — a position
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. court — of law
  8. craft — a skill
  9. degree — an amount
  10. row — to paddle
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. degree — temperature
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pit — in a race
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pit — a hole
  22. degree — from a university
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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