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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · net · race · temple · chair · kid

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. kid — child
  3. net — after costs
  4. chair — a leader
  5. race — the arms race
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. kid — to tease
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. net — for catching
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — a contest
  13. craft — a skill
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. net — in sport
  16. race — humankind
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. craft — boats

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