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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. kid — child
  7. cold — an illness
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bank — for money
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bank — of a river
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bank — for money
  24. race — humankind

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