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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · race · scale · land · pit · craft

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — to come down
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — a hole
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. craft — a skill
  11. tear — from crying
  12. land — ground
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. scale — in music
  15. race — the arms race
  16. scale — size or range
  17. craft — boats
  18. land — a country

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