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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. season — of the year
  11. bat — the animal
  12. march — the month
  13. cold — not warm
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. race — a contest
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. craft — a skill
  22. pound — a weight
  23. march — music
  24. safe — out of danger

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