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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: bore · sharp · roll · race · hand · craft · scale · fine

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. hand — help
  3. bore — to tire
  4. fine — high quality
  5. hand — in cards
  6. race — humankind
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. race — a contest
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. roll — a cake
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — clever
  16. roll — a list
  17. fine — all right
  18. race — the arms race
  19. craft — a skill
  20. scale — in music
  21. bore — to drill
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. fine — a penalty

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