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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. race — a contest
  3. season — in sport
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. ground — a position
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. content — happy
  10. squash — the sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. kid — to tease
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. race — the arms race
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. squash — to crush
  17. kid — child
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. craft — boats
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. season — of the year
  23. kick — in football
  24. race — humankind

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