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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. craft — boats
  3. cold — not warm
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. race — the arms race
  6. scale — in music
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. spell — a short time
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. spell — letters
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. race — a contest
  16. scale — size or range
  17. present — there
  18. dip — to sink
  19. spell — magic
  20. craft — a skill
  21. cold — an illness
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. sharp — clever

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