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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. craft — a skill
  5. race — a contest
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. chest — of your body
  17. race — humankind
  18. net — in sport

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