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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. race — a contest
  10. hand — in cards
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. race — humankind
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. wind — moving air
  19. toast — bread
  20. mine — for digging
  21. hand — help
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. craft — a skill
  24. mine — an explosive

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