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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. race — humankind
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cap — a hat
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cap — a lid
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — final
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cap — of ice
  14. last — finally
  15. cold — an illness
  16. craft — boats
  17. season — of the year
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. last — to go on
  22. prune — to trim
  23. season — in sport
  24. pound — a weight

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