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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rash — a series
  8. bat — the animal
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. race — humankind
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bark — to shout
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. race — the arms race
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wind — moving air

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