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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. last — finally
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — final
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. tear — to rip
  21. craft — boats
  22. wind — moving air
  23. craft — a skill
  24. calf — a young animal

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