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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. spell — letters
  3. craft — boats
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. race — humankind
  7. bank — for money
  8. spell — magic
  9. capital — money
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. can — to be able to
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — a city
  15. race — a contest
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bat — the animal
  19. can — a tin
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bank — for money
  22. can — a tin
  23. race — the arms race
  24. craft — a skill

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