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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bound — obliged
  3. race — humankind
  4. last — to go on
  5. bound — tied together
  6. last — finally
  7. race — the arms race
  8. craft — boats
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. wake — a trail
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bound — certain
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. race — a contest
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. craft — a skill

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