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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. race — a contest
  4. kid — child
  5. pitch — completely
  6. sharp — clever
  7. saw — the tool
  8. perch — the fish
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. craft — a skill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. race — humankind
  15. saw — the tool
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — to play on
  21. craft — boats
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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