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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. craft — a skill
  3. kid — child
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. race — a contest
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. race — humankind
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a document
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. object — a thing
  13. race — the arms race
  14. tear — to rip
  15. object — an aim
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. kid — to tease
  19. file — a line of people
  20. craft — boats
  21. staff — a stick
  22. file — a tool
  23. tube — a container
  24. tear — from crying

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