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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 120 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. court — for sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. court — of a king
  9. craft — boats
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. fork — in a road
  19. court — of law
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. craft — a skill
  23. race — the arms race
  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