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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. land — a country
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. firm — a company
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. firm — steady
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. race — the arms race
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. club — for golf
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. club — a group
  14. firm — decided
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. race — a contest
  19. craft — boats
  20. race — humankind
  21. club — for dancing
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitch — completely
  24. land — ground

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