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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: craft · fine · march · content · field · degree · mate · rest

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. craft — a skill
  3. mate — a friend
  4. content — happy
  5. rest — what's left
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. content — the amount
  9. fine — all right
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mate — a partner
  14. field — a subject
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. degree — from a university
  18. march — music
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fine — high quality
  22. march — the month
  23. craft — boats
  24. degree — an amount

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