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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: pitch · temple · wind · cold · craft · cabinet · race · chest

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. chest — of your body
  3. race — humankind
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — a box
  19. craft — boats
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cold — an illness

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