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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. key — for a lock
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. race — humankind
  6. key — the most important part
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bear — the animal
  9. scale — in music
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. race — the arms race
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bear — the animal
  17. race — a contest
  18. key — in music
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. ball — a dance
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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