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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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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 · dip · wind · kid · track · mate · degree · last

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — a skill
  3. last — final
  4. degree — temperature
  5. craft — boats
  6. mate — a partner
  7. last — finally
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. kid — child
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — to tease
  13. dip — to sink
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wind — moving air
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mate — a friend
  18. track — a path
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. last — to go on
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. track — a song
  24. mate — to breed

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