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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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Word bank
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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: race · bowl · chair · craft · wind · nail

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — boats
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — humankind
  10. wind — moving air
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. race — a contest
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer

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