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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: shower · degree · craft · field · fork · wave · mate · rash

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. field — farmland
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mate — a partner
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. field — a subject
  11. craft — a skill
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. craft — boats
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. shower — rain
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. field — for sport
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wave — of the sea

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