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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. craft — boats
  2. net — after costs
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. race — a contest
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. scale — in music
  7. lean — thin
  8. chip — to eat
  9. net — in sport
  10. degree — from a university
  11. net — for catching
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bore — to drill
  14. lean — to bend
  15. scale — size or range
  16. degree — an amount
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. degree — temperature
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. craft — a skill
  23. race — humankind
  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