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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. race — humankind
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. craft — boats
  5. cold — an illness
  6. race — a contest
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. chair — a leader
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. race — the arms race
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. craft — a skill
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fall — the season
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cabinet — ministers

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