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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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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: craft · fine · shower · land · bear · coach · degree · cell

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. land — ground
  3. craft — boats
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. cell — in biology
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bear — the animal
  8. land — a country
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fine — all right
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. shower — rain
  16. land — to come down
  17. cell — a phone
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. degree — from a university
  21. craft — a skill
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bear — the animal
  24. shower — to wash

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