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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chair — a leader
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. race — a contest
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. clip — a video
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. clip — for paper
  12. craft — boats
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kid — to tease
  15. race — humankind
  16. dip — to sink
  17. race — the arms race
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. net — after costs
  20. kid — child
  21. net — for catching
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. craft — a skill

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