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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: march · degree · object · squash · shower · season · arm · craft

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. march — the month
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. object — to protest
  6. craft — boats
  7. squash — to crush
  8. object — an aim
  9. degree — from a university
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. shower — to wash
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. degree — temperature
  18. shower — rain
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. object — a thing
  21. degree — an amount
  22. march — music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. craft — a skill

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