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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — clothes
  4. file — a tool
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. file — a document
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. race — humankind
  11. hand — help
  12. stand — to bear
  13. craft — a skill
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. file — a line of people
  16. hand — in cards
  17. craft — boats
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. suit — to fit
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. mine — an explosive

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