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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. roll — a cake
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. shower — to wash
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. kick — in football
  11. shower — rain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bound — certain
  15. race — a contest
  16. cap — a hat
  17. rash — hasty
  18. race — the arms race
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cap — a lid
  21. race — humankind
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bound — tied together

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