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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. kid — to tease
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. object — to protest
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bore — to drill
  8. plane — a tool
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chest — a box
  13. lean — thin
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bore — to tire
  16. object — an aim
  17. chest — of your body
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. lean — to bend
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. craft — a skill
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. object — a thing
  24. kid — child

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