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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. race — the arms race
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wake — a trail
  6. hand — help
  7. craft — boats
  8. file — a line of people
  9. race — humankind
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — the amount
  14. craft — a skill
  15. field — farmland
  16. race — a contest
  17. content — happy
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. file — a tool
  20. field — for sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. file — a document
  23. fall — to drop
  24. hand — part of the body

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