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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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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 · craft · degree · bear · scale · saw · pound · wind

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. scale — in music
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. craft — boats
  7. degree — an amount
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bear — the animal
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. degree — temperature
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pound — a weight
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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