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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 120 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: cap · bark · arm · cold · race · craft · current · fall

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. current — electric
  4. craft — boats
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fall — the season
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. fall — to drop
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cap — of ice
  12. fall — to drop
  13. current — happening now
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cap — a hat
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. race — a contest
  20. current — of water
  21. race — humankind
  22. cold — not warm
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bark — to shout

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