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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 · march · racket · tear · chair · roll · degree · land

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. march — the month
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chair — a leader
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. march — the month
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. roll — a cake
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. march — music
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. roll — a list
  19. degree — from a university
  20. craft — boats
  21. land — to come down
  22. degree — an amount
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. tear — to rip

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