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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cold — not warm
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — a publisher
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. press — to push
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cold — an illness
  11. race — humankind
  12. season — in sport
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. race — a contest
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. season — of the year

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