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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 116 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. race — humankind
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. kid — child
  8. root — the cause
  9. net — after costs
  10. swing — in golf
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. swing — music
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. swing — to play on
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. race — a contest
  23. net — for catching
  24. scale — in music

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