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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: craft · rest · degree · roll · cap · ground · foot · fan

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. foot — a measure
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. ground — crushed
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — boats
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. degree — an amount
  17. roll — a cake
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ground — a position
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. ground — the earth

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