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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: sharp · cold · race · rash · band · tube · prune · craft

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cold — not warm
  9. sharp — clever
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a ring
  15. tube — a container
  16. rash — a series
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — the arms race
  20. cold — an illness
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tube — the underground
  23. band — a music group
  24. race — a contest

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