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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pop — music
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. race — humankind
  6. craft — a skill
  7. field — for sport
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cue — a hint
  10. drill — army training
  11. pop — to visit
  12. craft — boats
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pop — soda
  15. branch — a division
  16. cue — for pool
  17. race — a contest
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. drill — a practice
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. cue — a signal
  24. drill — the tool

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