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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: wound · row · safe · fork · pass · craft · kid · cold

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kid — child
  4. fork — in a road
  5. row — to paddle
  6. craft — boats
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. row — a line
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — a permit
  14. kid — to tease
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. wound — an injury
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wound — an injury
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cold — the Cold War

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