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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: tear · current · race · spring · saw · craft · bowl · file

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. craft — boats
  3. current — happening now
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. saw — the tool
  7. race — the arms race
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. spring — a coil
  11. current — of water
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spring — of water
  15. file — a tool
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. craft — a skill
  18. spring — the season
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. current — electric
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. file — a document

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