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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: cold · race · mate · pit · craft · perch

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. craft — a skill
  8. mate — a friend
  9. race — the arms race
  10. craft — boats
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pit — in a race
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mate — a partner
  16. race — humankind
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. race — a contest

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