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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: bass · tear · patient · wake · craft · cold · suit · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. tear — to rip
  3. craft — boats
  4. bass — the fish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cold — an illness
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wake — a trail
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. suit — to fit
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. race — a contest
  18. suit — in cards
  19. bass — low music
  20. craft — a skill
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. suit — clothes
  24. tear — from crying

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