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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bass — the fish
  3. craft — a skill
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bass — low music
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. court — of a king
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. court — of law
  16. stem — to come from
  17. court — for sport
  18. ball — a dance
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. race — a contest
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. race — humankind

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