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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. craft — a skill
  3. race — humankind
  4. craft — boats
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. roll — a list
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. race — a contest
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pitch — completely
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wax — to grow
  15. kid — child
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. staff — employees
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. race — the arms race

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