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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. spell — magic
  4. cold — not warm
  5. race — humankind
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. snap — to click
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kid — to tease
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spell — letters
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kid — child
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. craft — boats
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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