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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: cold · game · dip · chair · craft · tear · firm · race

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tear — to rip
  7. game — wild animals
  8. race — the arms race
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — a leader
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. tear — from crying
  17. game — a match
  18. firm — a company
  19. race — a contest
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. firm — steady
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. craft — a skill
  24. firm — decided

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