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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: last · lie · craft · wound · kid · season · wind · race

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — finally
  6. race — humankind
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. race — the arms race
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. craft — a skill
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. kid — child
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. race — a contest
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kid — to tease
  23. season — of the year
  24. craft — boats

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