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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. craft — a skill
  3. wound — an injury
  4. row — to paddle
  5. craft — boats
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. race — humankind
  10. face — to confront
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. row — a line
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. face — part of the head
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bass — low music
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. face — to point toward

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