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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. net — after costs
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. race — humankind
  8. craft — boats
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. court — for sport
  11. craft — a skill
  12. board — a committee
  13. net — for catching
  14. board — to get on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. field — a subject
  17. court — of a king
  18. hand — help
  19. race — a contest
  20. bore — to drill
  21. court — of law
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. net — in sport

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