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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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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. race — a contest
  3. craft — a skill
  4. land — to come down
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. land — ground
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. race — humankind
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mine — for digging
  23. land — a country
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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