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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: kid · nail · date · race · cold · firm · craft · tear

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. date — the fruit
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — child
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — the arms race
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. race — humankind
  15. craft — a skill
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. firm — steady
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cold — an illness
  20. craft — boats
  21. tear — from crying
  22. firm — a company
  23. cold — not warm
  24. firm — decided

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