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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: season · bore · craft · court · file · fine · degree · track

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bore — to drill
  4. court — of a king
  5. degree — from a university
  6. season — in sport
  7. fine — all right
  8. file — a line of people
  9. craft — boats
  10. bore — to tire
  11. track — to keep track
  12. court — for sport
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. degree — temperature
  18. season — of the year
  19. file — a document
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. file — a tool
  24. court — of law

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