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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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Word bank
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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 · cold · pit · bound · race · rash · temple · saw

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. race — a contest
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pit — a hole
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. craft — a skill
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. craft — boats
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rash — a series
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bound — obliged
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bound — certain
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pit — in a race

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