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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  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 — child
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. craft — a skill
  6. tear — to rip
  7. race — humankind
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. craft — boats
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. race — a contest
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. kid — to tease
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. race — the arms race
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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