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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. snap — to click
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. race — humankind
  9. craft — a skill
  10. mug — to rob
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mug — a cup
  13. craft — boats
  14. shower — rain
  15. spring — the season
  16. capital — money
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. race — a contest
  19. capital — a city
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mug — a face
  22. spring — a coil
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. spring — of water

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