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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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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 · fork · craft · race · mine · degree · leaves · cap

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. cap — a lid
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. race — humankind
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. mine — for digging
  9. craft — boats
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. race — the arms race
  12. deal — to handle
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cap — a hat
  21. race — a contest
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mine — belonging to me

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