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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 spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. race — humankind
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. craft — boats
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. race — a contest
  15. foot — a measure
  16. race — the arms race
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. toast — bread
  21. row — to paddle
  22. drill — army training
  23. snap — to click
  24. foot — the bottom

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