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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. row — a quarrel
  3. race — a contest
  4. firm — decided
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. swing — in golf
  8. firm — a company
  9. swing — to play on
  10. craft — boats
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wind — moving air
  15. firm — steady
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. key — in music
  19. race — the arms race
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. swing — music
  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