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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: bay · shower · degree · bear · craft · fine · content · file

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. file — a tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. file — a line of people
  5. craft — a skill
  6. degree — from a university
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. fine — all right
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. bear — the animal
  17. file — a document
  18. content — happy
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fine — high quality

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