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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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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: deal · tear · row · degree · craft · coach · vault · saw

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. degree — an amount
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. craft — boats
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. vault — a safe
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — from a university
  13. saw — the tool
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. degree — temperature
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. saw — the tool
  20. deal — to handle
  21. row — to paddle
  22. craft — a skill
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. craft — a handicraft

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