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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. saw — the tool
  5. craft — boats
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mug — a cup
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. swing — to play on
  18. row — a line
  19. swing — music
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. row — to paddle
  23. swing — in golf
  24. rush — a thrill

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