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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. season — in sport
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tear — from crying
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. race — a contest
  8. season — of the year
  9. lie — to recline
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. tear — from crying
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kid — child
  15. race — humankind
  16. craft — a skill
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tear — to rip
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. season — to add flavour

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