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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. cold — an illness
  3. craft — boats
  4. race — humankind
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. kid — child
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. race — a contest
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. craft — a skill
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stock — shares
  17. content — the amount
  18. stock — goods
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — the arms race
  23. content — happy
  24. kid — to tease

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