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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. race — a contest
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. race — humankind
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mine — for digging
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cold — not warm
  12. track — a song
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. row — a line
  16. track — to keep track
  17. craft — boats
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — a path

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