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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 116 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: deal · degree · leaves · hand · craft · staff · mark · row

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. craft — boats
  5. hand — help
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mark — a trace
  13. deal — to handle
  14. mark — a grade
  15. degree — an amount
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. degree — from a university
  21. craft — a skill
  22. staff — a stick
  23. hand — in cards
  24. leaves — to go away

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