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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.

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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. rest — what's left
  3. race — a contest
  4. fall — to drop
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. land — to come down
  10. craft — boats
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. rest — what's left
  14. fall — the season
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rest — a break
  21. clip — for paper
  22. net — for catching
  23. craft — a skill
  24. march — music

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