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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: mark · degree · craft · tear · wake · bat · net · bowl

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. net — in sport
  4. mark — a trace
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tear — to rip
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wake — a trail
  16. net — after costs
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. net — for catching
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bat — in an idiom

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