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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 120 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: race · bore · hide · bass · craft · wind · degree · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — temperature
  8. race — humankind
  9. degree — an amount
  10. craft — boats
  11. bass — low music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bass — the fish
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. race — a contest
  23. craft — a skill
  24. hide — to keep secret

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