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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 124 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. land — ground
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. date — the fruit
  5. land — a country
  6. craft — boats
  7. race — humankind
  8. mark — a grade
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. net — in sport
  12. craft — a skill
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rush — hurry
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. race — a contest
  18. squash — to crush
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mark — a trace
  21. net — for catching
  22. land — to come down
  23. net — after costs
  24. rush — to hurry

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