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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. spell — magic
  3. mate — a friend
  4. root — the cause
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — decided
  7. craft — boats
  8. root — of a word
  9. mate — to breed
  10. firm — steady
  11. mate — a partner
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. file — a tool
  14. race — the arms race
  15. spell — a short time
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. file — a line of people
  19. race — humankind
  20. file — a document
  21. race — a contest
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. root — of a plant
  24. spell — letters

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