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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: wake · tear · craft · race · hand · mate

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. race — a contest
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. race — humankind
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. hand — help
  12. tear — to rip
  13. craft — boats
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wake — a trail
  16. tear — from crying
  17. craft — a skill
  18. tear — from crying

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