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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fine · land · date · snap · bark · degree · craft · jam

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. land — ground
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fine — all right
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. land — a country
  15. date — the fruit
  16. snap — to click
  17. craft — a skill
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — high quality
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. land — to come down
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. date — on the calendar

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