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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — a thing
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cold — an illness
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. race — the arms race
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. craft — boats
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. object — to protest
  14. cold — not warm
  15. scale — in music
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. spell — letters
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. spell — a short time

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