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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: race · craft · field · row · ruler · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. craft — a skill
  5. race — a contest
  6. row — to paddle
  7. last — to go on
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. field — farmland
  10. row — a line
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. race — the arms race
  13. field — for sport
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. field — a subject
  16. craft — boats
  17. race — humankind
  18. last — finally

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