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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. race — a contest
  3. sharp — clever
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. craft — a skill
  8. season — in sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. craft — boats
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. race — the arms race
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cell — a phone
  15. race — humankind
  16. tear — to rip
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. season — of the year
  20. cell — in biology
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. craft — a handicraft

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