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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 116 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: craft · chip · race · content · wind · root

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. race — a contest
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — the cause
  7. craft — a skill
  8. race — humankind
  9. chip — for betting
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. root — of a plant
  15. race — the arms race
  16. craft — boats
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — videos and posts

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