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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
468
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: fall · craft · game · degree · ball · net · chest · shower

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chest — of your body
  3. game — a match
  4. shower — rain
  5. net — for catching
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. degree — an amount
  8. ball — a dance
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. fall — the season
  12. chest — a box
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chest — of your body
  16. shower — to wash
  17. net — after costs
  18. degree — temperature
  19. net — in sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. craft — a skill
  22. ball — a great time
  23. game — wild animals
  24. craft — boats

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