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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 · craft · capital · mark · lean · saw · race · pound

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. race — humankind
  3. craft — a skill
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pound — a weight
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. craft — boats
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. capital — a city
  15. mark — a grade
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mark — a trace
  20. race — a contest
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lean — to rest against
  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