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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: craft · fork · race · ruler · vault · deal · present · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. craft — a skill
  4. present — there
  5. fork — in a road
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. cold — an illness
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. deal — to handle
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. present — a gift
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — a safe
  16. race — a contest
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. present — the time now
  19. craft — boats
  20. race — humankind
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. race — the arms race

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