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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: rash · wound · charge · cold · snap · race · mine · craft

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. charge — in control
  3. charge — a price
  4. cold — not warm
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cold — an illness
  8. charge — electricity
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. craft — boats
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rash — a series
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to click
  24. rash — hasty

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