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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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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: race · pitcher · sharp · craft · pit · hide · shower · chest

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. shower — rain
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chest — a box
  9. craft — boats
  10. pit — in a race
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. chest — of your body
  15. sharp — clever
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. race — humankind
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chest — of your body
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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