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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cold — an illness
  5. hand — help
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rock — music
  8. race — a contest
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. race — humankind
  13. craft — boats
  14. rock — a stone
  15. pound — a weight
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. track — a song
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. track — a path
  24. hand — in cards

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